To make a wish, pay ten Hong Kong dollars (US$1.30) for a Ng Bo Diep, write down your wish, roll the papers up into a scroll and tie on a red string connected to a Mandarin orange for weight.  Then, toss your wish skyward and hope it catches on one of the tree’s many branches.

Although Lam Tsuen’s Wishing Tree (as described in my book) is the most famous, it is not the only one. Hong Kong’s countryside is dotted with smaller, lesser-known versions. They tend to be banyan or camphor trees—probably due to their large aerial roots that twist and curve into unusual shapes. It is easy to imagine the roots having special powers.

On February 12, 2005, several large branches broke off the Lam Tsuen tree, weighed down by too many wishes. To preserve the tree for future generations, the local government installed a wooden rack at the base of the tree, to tie wishes onto instead. In 2008, a smaller banyan was planted near the original tree, so that the wishing tree line would not die out.

Most people leave small offerings at the base of the spirit trees before praying -- usually fruit, cups of Chinese wine, red candles and incense sticks. 

Legends of wishing trees can be found in many cultures throughout the world.  New Zealand has a famous Wishing Tree in the Rotoma Hills near the Bay of Plenty.  According to legend, a Maori princess hid with her baby in its hollow trunk to escape enemy warriors.  When the baby grew up, he became head of one of the great Maori tribes.  Today, people place gifts and money in the tree's hollow trunk and hope their wishes will be granted.  It is said that the tree can even influence the weather for travelers.

In India, there is a legend about a magic kalpataru tree.  It is said the kalpataru will grant anything a person desires from it.

The ancient Mayans of Guatemala believed that the ceiba—a tall rainforest tree with hundreds of inch-long spikes—could grant wishes. Ceibas were considered to be links between heaven and earth. Today’s Mayans make wishes and leave offerings of candles and food at the trunks of large ceiba trees.

The Burmese believe that Nat spirits live in some of the oldest, grandest trees.  The Nats protect these trees, and people leave offerings for the trees and guardian Nats in hopes that their wishes will be granted.

In Chinese communities throughout Southeast Asia, people hang lai see packets (lucky money envelopes) on small kumquat trees in front of doorways.  It is thought that these lucky envelopes will help bring good luck into the household.