Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT

 If you still think fortune-telling is a street side stall run by a blind person or going to a temple, then you are out-of-date. Many young people in Beijing, who have been immersed in an environment open to Western culture and impressed by Western divination, have found coffee shops in trendy alleys in downtown Beijing to be the best place for fortune-telling. The Tarot master predicts the career, love, health and relationships for those coming for divination, for a charge of 100 yuan ($16). Sometimes, a pious believer would like to wait for several hours to be able to meet the Tarot master. Whether this signifies a real belief in superstition, or an interest in foreign practices, it's hard to tell. But it shouldn't be taken too seriously.