(Yicai Global) March 20 -- Soho China has sued a firm that posted an article alleging one of its Beijing office buildings has "bad fengshui," the Chinese commercial realty developer announced yesterday.

The claim, made against Soho China's Wangjing Soho office building in northeast Beijing, added the building's layout has many defects as a result, and this has caused many companies housed there to fall into business difficulties. 

These include Shanghai Xiongmao Huyu Wenhua's online live video-streaming platform Panda TV, video website company Guangzhou Acfun Network Technology and bike-sharing firm Tianjin Luding Technology that operated the now-defunct Bluegogo brand, a WeChat account named Shengunju ['psychic club'] stated in November.

A form of geomancy, fengshui is the 5,000 year-old Chinese practice of placing buildings and objects in harmony with nature for good luck.

The medieval superstitious claim about Wangjing Soho has damaged Soho China's reputation and caused psychological harm to its customers, the property developer said in a public statement issued yesterday, adding it has filed a lawsuit. The case was officially heard on March 18. Soho offered no further details as to the proceedings, however

Designed by famous architect Zaha Hadid and covering 115,392 square meters, Wangjing Soho was completed in 2013. It has attracted many internet companies with its good location and moderate rents.

"It is normal for some industries or companies to go under," Soho China said of these failing firms.

Ironically, the real estate firm's founder Pan Shiyi was the first to raise the issue of the complex's fengshui attributes. Pan posted the news of social network operator tenant Beijing Momo Technology's listing on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on his personal Twitter-like Weibo account on Dec. 12, 2014, saying "Another company in this building has gone public. This place has good fengshui, and this benefits the development of internet companies." 

Shengunju is an account devoted to mysticism which has a large following. Corporate information platform Qixinbao shows that it is operated by a company named Zhuhai Shengun Network Technology. In addition to spreading mystical information, the account also provides numerology consulting and fengshui planning services. 

The two WeChat accounts the company operates have now been closed.

Editor: Ben Armour