It is called the Wishing Tree. No one seems to know when or how it got its name. Nor are there reliable records of wishes coming true for visitors who have hung oranges and paper offerings on the banyan tree.
Memory has it that scenes of pilgrimage to the Wishing Tree in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, have been a set-piece feature of television news on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
And once in a while, government ministers have joined fellow residents to make a wish for the city in the media glare: a drop in the jobless rate, good health and economic vitality ... the list goes on.
Local tours featuring an experience of the 'traditional' Hong Kong organised by market-sensitive businessmen sprouted. Officials have hailed it as a showcase of the economical potential of community-based tourism.
In every sense, the Wishing Tree is a please-all tradition in an otherwise modern Hong Kong. It offers a place where people can pin their hopes for a better life. Villagers at Lam Tsuen have built up profitable businesses selling oranges and paper offerings. Officials point to the Wishing Tree as a successful blend of culture and business.
The good wishes hung on the old banyan tree were shadowed by a bad omen last weekend when a branch broke off, injuring two people and causing a stir.