VISIT GUIDE
Two old banyans in Fong Ma Po village, Tai Po, and a square next door where Hong Kong’s placard-throwing wish custom carries on — in a way that spares the trees.
Hong Kong packaged · Ritual-inspired · Ships to Thailand
The Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees are two banyans in Fong Ma Po village, Tai Po, where people hang written wishes on wooden racks or toss them at a replica tree. Take the East Rail line to Tai Po Market, then KMB bus 64K to Fong Ma Po. Weekday mornings are calmest; allow 1–2 hours.
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The Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees (林村許願樹) are a pair of banyan trees in Fong Ma Po village, Lam Tsuen, in Tai Po in the New Territories. For generations people came here — above all at Chinese New Year — to write a wish on a paper placard and toss it into the branches. Today the real trees are protected: you hang your wish on the wooden racks beside them, or throw it at the replica wishing tree in the neighbouring Lam Tsuen Wishing Square. Below: how wishing works now, getting there from Tai Po Market, hours (snapshot, checked 2026-10-05), the village’s Tin Hau temple, how long to stay and easy Tai Po add-ons. Arrangements change, so confirm on site before you rely on them.
Lam Tsuen is a valley of some two dozen villages on the slopes below Tai Mo Shan, settled for roughly seven centuries. Its fame rests on a simple folk ritual: write your name and wish on a wishing placard (寶牒, bo dip), weight it — traditionally with a mandarin orange — and throw it up into the banyan. The higher it lodges, the saying goes, the better your chances.
Popularity nearly cost the trees. Years of heavy placards weakened them, and in 2005 a large branch broke and fell, injuring visitors. Since then the authorities and villagers have steered people away from throwing at the living trees: placards go on wooden racks instead, and the villagers set up a roughly 25-foot replica tree in the Wishing Square so the throwing custom can go on safely.
The trees stand beside Fong Ma Po’s Tin Hau temple, and many villagers pay respects there before making a wish. This guide is about the wishing trees and Lam Tsuen as a visit; it is not a general guide to Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong.
MTR
Tai Po Market or Tai Wo · East Rail line
Last leg
KMB 64K to Fong Ma Po (Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees)
Ride
Short bus hop · check HKeMobility
Start on the MTR East Rail line. Route notes below come from government and accessibility sources (checked 2026-10-05); services change, so check the operator or the Transport Department’s HKeMobility app on the day:
From the bus stop, cross Lam Kam Road and turn onto Lam Tsuen Heung Kung So Road; the village archway, the trees and the Tin Hau temple are a few minutes’ walk. Tap Octopus and check the operator.
Access note: the Wishing Square has ramps and there is an accessible public toilet near the temple, but the temple entrance has steps, so wheelchair users may need a hand there.
HOURS
Snapshot, checked 2026-10-05. No single official timetable covers the whole site, so confirm locally:
Best time: a weekday morning for calm photos and short queues at the racks. Go during the New Year festival for atmosphere, but expect crowds, especially on the first days.
The current practice puts the trees first (from government and tourism-board guidance, checked 2026-10-05 — follow any signs or staff on the day):
Hong Kong Temple Gifts pieces are Hong Kong–packaged and taken to temples for chanting — a meaningful keepsake of your visit to Lam Tsuen or its Tin Hau temple.
Browse the Gift Shop or Top Sellers after your visit.
Placards hang on the wooden racks beside Lam Tsuen’s protected banyans.
The original wishing trees. Two banyans at the village entrance carry the name. The best-known tree, fenced and propped since the 2005 branch fall, is still the emotional heart of the place — come to look, pay respects and hang a wish on the racks, not to throw.
Lam Tsuen Wishing Square. Set up by the villagers beside the trees, the Square holds the roughly 25-foot replica banyan for placard-throwing, more wishing racks, a transplanted younger banyan, a wishing well for lotus lanterns and a zodiac corner where you can find your animal sign.
Fong Ma Po Tin Hau temple. Next to the trees stands the village temple to Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea, built in the Qing dynasty’s Qianlong era (1768 is the date usually given) and listed as a Grade II historic building. The main hall honours Tin Hau, with side halls for Kwun Yam and the God of Wealth. Many villagers visit here first, then go to the trees. For Hong Kong Island’s best-known Tin Hau temple, see our Tin Hau Temple Causeway Bay visit guide.
Village snacks. Stalls near the temple sell local favourites such as tofu pudding (豆腐花) — a nice pause, especially outside festival crowds.
See all guides on Explore Hong Kong Temples, or plan a multi-stop day with the Hong Kong temples itinerary.
What the village stop feels like (replica-only throwing): Lam Tsuen — what to expect.
Getting there: How to get to the Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees (64K from Tai Po Market, 25K, Tai Wo).
Before you wish: How to make a wish at the Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees (racks, replica tree, New Year festival).
Tai Po & East Rail line: Tsz Shan Monastery visit guide · Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery visit guide · Che Kung Temple visit guide.
Sister stops: Big Buddha & Po Lin Monastery visit guide · Chi Lin Nunnery & Nan Lian Garden visit guide · Wong Tai Sin Temple visit guide · Man Mo Temple visit guide · Tin Hau Temple Causeway Bay visit guide.
They are two banyan trees in Fong Ma Po village, Lam Tsuen, in Tai Po in the New Territories, beside the village’s Tin Hau temple. People have long made wishes here by tossing paper placards into the branches, especially at Chinese New Year. Next door, the villagers’ Lam Tsuen Wishing Square keeps the custom going with a replica tree.
Write your name and wish on a placard, then either hang it on the wooden racks beside the real trees or throw it at the replica tree in the Wishing Square. Do not throw anything at the protected banyans, and use the lightweight placards and plastic oranges sold on site — no stones or real fruit. See the Hong Kong government’s Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees page for the official background, and follow signs on the day (checked 2026-10-05).
The trees stand in the open by the village road. The Wishing Square is commonly listed at about 9am–5pm on ordinary days, and the government heritage listing gives the Fong Ma Po Tin Hau temple as open daily 8am–6pm. Hours are longer during the Chinese New Year festival. Snapshot checked 2026-10-05 — confirm locally.
Take the East Rail line to Tai Po Market, leave by Exit A and follow the tunnel to the bus terminus. Ride KMB 64K (towards Yuen Long West) and get off at Fong Ma Po (Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees), then cross Lam Kam Road and walk a few minutes into the village. Green minibus 25K and taxis are alternatives; 64K also stops near Tai Wo station. Check HKeMobility on the day.
It depends on what you want. The Hong Kong Well-wishing Festival, usually from Lunar New Year’s Day to the fifteenth day, brings stalls, performances, lanterns and big crowds — the full festive experience. An ordinary weekday is calm, quick and better for photos. Festival dates and hours are announced each year, so check before going.
It is the Lam Tsuen village temple to Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea, right beside the wishing trees. It dates from the Qing dynasty’s Qianlong era (1768 is usually given) and is a Grade II historic building, with side halls for Kwun Yam and the God of Wealth. Many visitors pay respects here before making a wish.
Allow about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours on an ordinary day for the trees, the Wishing Square, the Tin Hau temple and a village snack. At Chinese New Year, allow longer for queues and the festival stalls. Add travel time from Tai Po Market.
Yes, if you like living folk custom: it is free to walk around, easy to reach from Tai Po and quite unlike the big city temples. It is a small site, so pair it with Tai Po or another New Territories stop. For more temple days, browse Explore Hong Kong Temples.
Yes. Both are reached from Tai Po Market, so Lam Tsuen pairs well with lunch in Tai Po town. Tsz Shan Monastery needs advance online registration, so book your slot first and fit Lam Tsuen around it — see our Tsz Shan Monastery visit guide. Kadoorie Farm lies further along Lam Kam Road if you have more time.
Our Hong Kong–packaged temple gifts — fortune wheels, red cords and wind-spinner motifs — echo the wishes visitors hang at Lam Tsuen, so they make a meaningful keepsake of your visit. Browse the Gift Shop or Top Sellers.
