The original banyan tree suffered a major branch collapse in 2005 due to the cumulative weight of thousands of heavy offerings.
The tradition involves tying a weight (traditionally a real orange, now often plastic) to a wish-paper; if the item hangs on the branch, the wish is believed to come true.
The site includes a bronze statue of a wishing tree and a wishing pond to accommodate overflow during peak festival periods.
The adjacent Tin Hau Temple is a declared historic site that predates the arrival of modern infrastructure in the area.
Local authorities implemented a ban on throwing items directly into the old tree's canopy to facilitate its long-term biological recovery.
The Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree is a historic banyan tree site in the New Territories where visitors perform a ritual of throwing joss paper tied to oranges onto its branches to make wishes. Due to past structural damage from overloaded branches, the original tree is protected and the public now throws wishes at a specialized wooden frame or a secondary replica tree nearby. The site sits adjacent to the Tin Hau Temple, which dates back to the Qing Dynasty. Visitors purchase wish-making kits consisting of a plastic orange, string, and paper at local stalls. The area serves as a focal point for the annual Lam Tsuen Wishing Festival held during the Lunar New Year. The site is managed by a local committee to balance cultural preservation with visitor safety. Surrounding the site are traditional village houses and agricultural land typical of the Tai Po district.
The elevated platform near the replica wishing frame provides the best angle of both the frame and the village temple.
Write your wish clearly on the provided paper before heading to the throwing area to avoid bottlenecks.
Visit during the weekdays if you prefer to avoid the massive crowds that characterize the Lunar New Year season.
Explore the nearby Tin Hau Temple to understand the spiritual context of the village settlement.
Do not attempt to throw paper into the protected, fenced-off original banyan tree; use only the designated racks provided for the public.
The area experiences significantly increased activity and potential crowd-control measures during the Lunar New Year period.
Respect the sacred nature of the adjacent temple by maintaining a quiet demeanor and refraining from loud photography inside the temple.
