Where the banyan tree drips with oranges

YOU will not find banyan trees like the ones outside Tai Po's main Tin Hau temple anywhere in Asia. The branches drip with ripe, juicy oranges, and the fruit multiplies every weekend.

But of course the fruit does not actually grow on the trees. The oranges are pierced, threaded with string, and hurled up into the old limbs by visitors who are looking for a change of luck.

At Lunar New Year, you would be fortunate to get enough room to swing your arm, for the crowds are so thick then at Lam Tsuen. I am told some of the branches snapped at a recent lunar celebration because the weight of fruit was so great.

I had taken the 64K bus from Tai Po Market KCR station to check out the temple and its banyan trees, a journey of around 10 minutes.

When I arrived, the fruit-sellers were doing a roaring trade. Paper scrolls are also attached to the string: you write your wish and then toss the orange and scroll up into the branches.

They say your wish is more likely to come true if the first throw is successful, but many are not, so mind your head! I guess the luckiest people around here are the stallholders. At $10 an orange, their wishes have already come true. Who said money does not grow on trees? Each village around here has a spiritual banyan tree, but the two trees at Lam Tsuen gained a reputation many years ago as bringing luck, and now locals are drawn from throughout the SAR.

The oldest tree, a fine specimen, is believed to be 500 years old and is said to bring wealth and health. The other, they say, will help you find a good partner and have children.