The annual Hong Kong Well-wishing Festival at Lam Tsuen, Tai Po will be held from the first (Feb 17) to the 15th day (Mar 3) of the Lunar New Year, offering visitors a festive mix of wishing rituals, market stalls, food booths and stage performances, as residents and tourists continue the tradition of tossing wishing placards onto the iconic banyan trees.
This year’s festival will feature a marketplace with 48 dry goods stalls, 16 food booths and eight game stalls, alongside live performances by guest singers.
To mark the Year of the Horse, multiple horse-themed installations will be set up across the venue to provide photo-taking spots for visitors.
The festival will open from 9am to 7pm on the first day of the Lunar New Year, as well as from the seventh to the 15th day. From the second to the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, opening hours will be extended to 9am to 9pm.
To facilitate travel, KMB will introduce a special Route 63R shuttle service between Tai Wo MTR Station and Lam Tsuen during the festival period.
In a first for the event, the Lam Tsuen Wishing Plaza will also send a team to take part in the Lunar New Year parade in Tsim Sha Tsui on the evening of the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The parade float will be themed “Light and Hope” and feature an illuminated wishing tree, auspicious colorful horses and decorations inspired by Hong Kong landmarks. The float will be powered by environmentally friendly electricity, symbolizing the city’s continued vitality and forward momentum.
Lam Tsuen Wishing Plaza Chairman Gilvig Cheng Lun-kwong said the festival recorded close to 300,000 visits last year and expressed confidence that this year’s parade appearance and new Year of the Horse elements would help attract even more visitors.
“Although the economy is not performing well, the prices of wishing placards will remain unchanged,” he said.
marco.lam@singtaonewscorp.com
