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Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, Hong Kong

The Wishing Trees of Lam Tsuen

In the village of Fong Ma Po, in the Lam Tsuen valley, two old banyan trees stand beside a small temple. For generations people came here at Lunar New Year, wrote a wish on red joss paper, tied it to an orange, and threw the bundle up into the branches. If it caught and stayed, the wish would come true. If it fell, you tried again.

How the tradition worked

The elements are all deliberate. Red is the colour of luck. Oranges are associated with prosperity and are the standard gift of the new year. Height matters — the higher your bundle lodged, the better the outcome was said to be — and the throw itself introduced skill and chance into something that would otherwise be pure declaration.

The trees were treated as inhabited. Banyans, with their aerial roots and dense canopies, are widely regarded in southern China as the dwelling of spirits, and this pair stood beside the Tin Hau temple, which had drawn worshippers to the valley long before anyone was throwing fruit.

The branch that fell

On the day of the Lantern Festival in 2005, a heavy branch broke off and fell into the crowd, injuring people below. The cause was not mysterious: decades of oranges, paper, string and repeated impacts had damaged the tree, and the weight it was being asked to carry had never been part of its design.

Throwing at the original banyans was stopped. The trees were treated and are still there, fenced and cared for.

What replaced it is a compromise that tells you something about how traditions survive. A purpose-built structure was installed nearby to receive the throws, and plastic oranges are used in place of real ones — reusable, lighter, and incapable of rotting into the canopy. Racks are also provided where wishes can simply be hung.

Is the plastic version still the tradition?

Plenty of visitors say it is not, and they are entitled to the disappointment. Something is lost when the object in your hand is manufactured for the purpose and will be used again next week.

But the wish is still written by hand, still red, still thrown, still subject to catching or falling. What was removed was the part that damaged the thing the ritual was addressed to. A tradition that kills its own tree is not more authentic; it is just shorter.

The village has leaned into it, and the site now includes a well and other wish-related installations. It is frankly touristic. It is also busy with local families at new year, which is the better test.

If you go

Lam Tsuen is in the New Territories, near Tai Po, reachable by rail to Tai Po Market and then a short bus ride. It is a half-day trip from central Hong Kong.

Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival are when the site is at its fullest and most atmospheric, and also when it is most crowded. The rest of the year it is quiet enough to see the trees properly.

How to make a wish at Lam Tsuen

  1. Write the wish on red paper

    Joss paper is sold on site. One wish per slip.

  2. Tie it to the orange

    The string needs to hold the weight through the throw and afterwards.

  3. Throw it up into the branches

    Higher is traditionally better. The throw is made at the purpose-built structure, not at the original banyans.

  4. If it falls, throw again

    Failure is part of the ritual and carries no stigma.

In short

Where
Fong Ma Po village, Lam Tsuen valley
Peak season
Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival
Since 2005
Throwing at the original banyans is not allowed
Now used
A purpose-built structure and plastic oranges

Questions people ask

Can you still throw oranges into the Lam Tsuen banyans?
No. After a branch fell and injured people in 2005, throwing at the original trees was stopped. A purpose-built structure with reusable plastic oranges now receives the throws.
What do you write on?
Red joss paper, sold at the site. The slip is tied to the orange before it is thrown.

Keep reading

  • How to make a wish

    Strip away the local detail and every wishing tradition on earth does the same four things. Here they are, and here is why they work.

  • Why we throw coins into fountains

    The habit predates fountains, predates Christianity, and began as something considerably more serious than luck.

  • Wishing traditions around the world

    Written, floated, burned, tied, snapped, blown out or thrown. A tour of how the same act takes a dozen different forms.

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