Hong Kong Lam Tsuen
Wishing Tree
Believed to Make Your
Dreams Come True

Hong Kong Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree used to be a big tree with many, many oranges tied together with some wish-making paper. But a few years ago, people found out that all of these things hanging over the branches of the tree gave a lot of weight and pressure. And the tree could fall down at any time.

The tree relies on the scaffolding to support now

See the tree on the left hand side, it is like a miniature of the Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree. That was how it looked with so many things hanging on the tree.

Hong Kong Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree Now and Then

So, if you go to check out the Hong Kong Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree, you will see that most of the tree is cut. It only has its skeleton which is supported by some wooden posts.

The picture on top of this page shows the skeleton of the tree. This picture looks better than how it looks now.

In the past, people bought an orange tied to the wish-making paper. You made a wish and threw everything to the top of the tree. The higher it landed on the tree, the higher the probability your wish would come true.

If it did come true, you had to go back and pay the respect to the spirit of the tree and thank it for doing you such a big favor.

Without the tree, nowadays, we bought the same stuffs, plus Chinese incense sticks and went over to the booth where you can worship the Chinese Taoist gods spirits, made a wish and burn it and tied it on the wooden rack next to the tree.

The wooden rack where you will tie your wish-making paper

Lam Tsuen

"Lam Tsuen" in English translation is "Lam's Village".  In the New Territories, you will find a lot of villages named after the family names.  The natives are very proud of their family.  In the past, everybody in a village liked this shared the same last name or surname.

As more and more people moved to the city and some moved back to the rural areas, you may not find that it is true.  Whoever lives here from the family still up hold their family traditions and, especially, the real estate properties.

We went there in 2007 and the tree had already been left as a skeleton.

As soon as you step into the area and are seen by the people over there, someone will approach you right away and ask you to buy the things to worship the spirit of the Hong Kong Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree. It was pretty expensive. It cost about USD5-8 for each set. Of course, if you believe it, its worth every penny. After paying for it, these people will tell you the directions of how to do the whole process.

Entrance of Lam Tsuen

If you are not interested in worshiping the spirit of the tree, keep walking toward the end of the road and check out the area.

There is a Tin Hau Temple built around the 18th century during the Qing dynasty.

Tin Hau Temple

A banner outside of the Tin Hau Temple it is an advertisement of a fortune teller

The public bathroom in the village has been awarded of its design. It is very nice and clean.

The 2 pictures above show the housing units in Lam Tsuen and the New Territories of Hong Kong

I went back in 2009, during the Chinese New Year . There is a day during that month that is called "Lantern Festival". So, there were many lanterns hanging all around.

Chinese lanterns for celebrating the Chinese Lantern Festival

Things To Do Nearby Lam Tsuen

Before we left the area, we stopped by a mom-and-pop store to have a bowl of sweet silky tofu (coming soon link to Hong Kong Street Food page)

In my opinion, if the tree were still there in good shape, the trip would be worth it. If you are in a rush, you may as well skip it.

To attract people to come back visiting this area, they have the Hong Kong Well-Wishing Festivals. It only last about 2 weeks. If you are interested, click here to check out their website for more details.

There is an alternate way to see the Lam Tsuen wish tree.  We were visiting Ngong Ping 360 in Oct 2012.  There was a replicate of the tree.

Direction: Getting off MTR Tai Wo Station, then take a taxi.
Hours: 9am – 7pm, Monday to Friday;
9am – 10pm, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays
Fee: FREE, except special event at Lam Tsuen Wishing Square.

Click here to check out our photo album.

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