Notes » March 2008

Making A Wish, Making It Twice

The new wishing tree has arrived and has been transplanted.

Obtained from a private park in Zengcheng, Guangdong province, the 11-metre-high banyan tree was planted next to the original wishing tree near Lam Tsuen's Tin Hau temple, which almost died three years ago under the weight of offerings thrown onto it.

For clarification, the tree almost died, not the temple.

But wait, there's more!

The banyan tree, which is more than 100 years old, is part of a tourism-revival plan involving construction of a "wishing square" in Lam Tsuen ...

Plans for the square include construction of a "wishing tower", 12 "wishing statues" featuring Chinese astrological signs, and a museum that will showcase wish-making traditions in different countries and regions.

[ ... ]

"People will be not allowed to throw anything onto either of the wishing trees, but they can do so with the wishing tower and statues ..."

Which proves once again that superstitions can be flexible. Let's hope the benevolent tree god is cool with all these ideas.

The new tree is pruned in the bonsai style, with branches numbering 23, which in Cantonese sounds like "easy to live".

As long as folks aren't hucking oranges at the tree, it likely will.

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