The story of our Wishing Tree

Posted on April 22, 2015

Our beautiful wishing tree

A beautiful Wishing Tree, every branch perpetually hung with lucky red wishing cards, is a striking feature of Hutong in both London and Hong Kong. Far more than being purely ornamental, the trees are in fact an homage to the famous Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees in Hong Kong.

Part of a shrine near the Tin Pau Temple in Lam Tsuen, built during the Qing dynasty in the 18th century, for over two hundred years it has been traditional to tie a wish written on paper to an orange and toss it into the two banyan trees at Chinese New Year. If the wish catches the branch and stays there, it is believed it will be granted!

Following an incident in 2005 when a branch fell from one of the trees, the tossing of oranges has been discouraged and instead wishes are hung on racks near the trees. However, to make it possible to enjoy the wishing tree tradition authentically every day of the year, we recreated a Lam Tsuen tree in each of our restaurants.

Next time you visit us, be sure to ask for a wishing card, fill it out and hang it on a branch before you leave. And we sincerely hope that your wishes come true!