One of Hong Kong’s most important Chinese New Year traditions, the Lam Tsuen Well-Wishing Festival, will be held at Tai Po from January 29-February 12, 2025. Visitors will have free access to the annual event from 8:30am-10pm on January 29-February 4, and 8:30am-7pm on February 5-12. This year, the floats from the Chinese New Year Night Parade will be on display near the tree from January 30-February 13. Mainland Chinese and international artists who are slated to take part in the parade will also perform at the festival on January 30 and 31.
What is the Hong Kong Well-wishing Festival?
The main attraction of the festival is a banyan tree where visitors write their wishes, along with their names and birthdates, on a placard. They then attach it to a mandarin and toss it onto the tree, aiming for it to stay aloft. It is believed that the higher the mandarin lands, the greater the chance of the wish being granted.
The iconic 200-year-old tree, located near the Tin Hau Temple in Lam Tsuen’s Fong Ma Po Village, was once a place where people hung their wishes. Today, the original tree has been cordoned off for its protection and wooden frames next to it serve as spots for visitors to hang their offerings, and only plastic mandarins can be tied to its branches. The village also has a younger banyan tree and a plastic wishing tree where visitors can leave their wishes. In addition, there is a wishing well that was created in 2011 where festival participants can light small lotus lamps and set them afloat as they make a wish.
What parade floats will be on display at the festival?
Several floats from the 2025 Chinese New Year Night Parade that will be held on January 29. This year, there will be nine floats from Cathay Pacific, the main sponsor of the event, as well as one from Hong Kong Disneyland that will have Mickey, Minnie, Duffy, LinaBell and God of Fortune Goofy Riding on red and gold festive patterns with lucky plum blossoms and four-leaf clovers. The LINE FRIENDS float will bring out its futuristic-themed float, while Ocean Park and the city’s tourism agencies will have a panda-themed display in honour of Hong Kong’s panda family.
The floats will be on display at the Lam Tsuen Well-Wishing Festival at the following times:
- January 30-February 4: 8:30am-10pm
- February 5-12: 8:30am-7pm
- February 13: 9:30am-5:30pm
There will also be performances by several artists from Mainland China and across the globe who will regale visitors to the well-wishing tree with traditional Chinese dances, K-pop moves, stilt-walking, and unicycling, among other talents.
| EVENT | Hong Kong Lam Tsuen Well-Wishing Festival |
| VENUE | Lam Tsuen Heung Kung Sho Road, Lam Tsuen, Tai Po |
| DATES | January 29-February 12, 2025 |
| WEBSITE | www.lamtsuen.com |
Header image credits: Hong Kong Well Wishing Festival
