Lam Tsuen

Lam Tsuen (Chinese: 林村) is an area in Tai Po District, Hong Kong, noted for its Lam Tsuen wishing trees. The nearby Lam Tsuen River, empties into Tai Po Hoi.

Lam Tsuen archway.
Lam Tsuen Valley Committee building.
Ng Tung Chai.
Chan ancestral hall in She Shan.
Tin Hau Temple in Fong Ma Po.

Villages

Lam Tsuen is not a village in the political sense but rather a union of the 23 villages scattered across the Lam Tsuen Valley along with five indigenous (Punti) villages and 18 Hakka villages.[1]

Today, Lam Tsuen spreads over an area covering 26 villages:[2]

  • Pak Ngau Shek Sheung Tsuen (白牛石上村)
  • Pak Ngau Shek Ha Tsuen (白牛石下村)
  • Ng Tung Chai (梧桐寨)
  • Chai Kek (寨乪)
  • Tai Yeung Che (大陽輋)
  • Ma Po Mei (麻布尾)
  • Shui Wo Tsuen (水窩村)
  • Ping Long (坪朗)
  • Tai Om Shan (大菴山)
  • Siu Om Shan (小菴山)
  • Tai Om (大菴)
  • Lung A Pai (龍丫排), a Hakka village
  • Tin Liu Ha (田寮下), a Hakka village, which was subdivided into 2 villages: Sheung Tin Liu Ha (上田寮下, Upper Tin Liu Ha) and Ha Tin Liu Ha (下田寮下, Lower Tin Liu Ha)[3]
  • San Tong (新塘)
  • San Tsuen (新村)
  • She Shan Tsuen (社山村)
  • Tong Sheung Tsuen (塘上村)
  • Chung Uk Tsuen (鍾屋村), the oldest village in Lam Tsuen, was established more than 600 years ago.
  • San Uk Tsai (新屋仔)
  • Fong Ma Po (放馬莆, lit. "place for grazing horses"), a Punti village,[4] where the Tin Hau Temple and the Lam Tsuen wishing trees are located
  • Hang Ha Po (坑下莆)
  • Kau Liu Ha (較寮下)
  • Wai Tau Tsuen (圍頭村)
  • Nam Wa Po (南華莆)
  • Lin Au Lei Uk (蓮澳李屋)
  • Lin Au Cheng Uk (蓮澳鄭屋)

Name: although the union of villages is call Lam Tsuen, however, the majority of villagers has the surname: Chong (鍾姓), only a small proportion of residents are of surname Lam (林姓)

Attractions

Wishing Tree

Wishing Tree is two camphor trees which were seen as "god" by the inhabitant. Traditionally, the villagers used to burn the joss paper and light up the candle under the trees for making wishes. In the legend, a woman who fell in ill dreamed that a god told her to visit Lam Tsuen and throw a piece of joss paper to the great tree. She followed the instruction and the women recovered. Afterwards, the people changed to toss the joss paper to the trees with their blessings written on it.

Tin Hau Temple

Tin Hau Temple at Lam Tsuen was built in 1768 to honour the Tin Hau, the goddess of the sea, who calmed the sea to protect the fishermen. In the beginning, the villagers had inadequate capital to construct the temple but a rich man, Tang, paid for the construction cost after he knew the situation. Then, the villagers put Tang's monument into the temple for worship.

The villagers see the temple as the most sacred place in their village and the Bun Festival is held in there in every nine years. The regular worship and ceremony are also held in the Tin Hau Temple in normal days.

Well-Wishing Festival

Well-Wishing Festival was developed from traditional ritual for the inhabitant to the most representative ritual for making wishes in Hong Kong. The festival is held in the first couple of weeks of Chinese New Year. In the festival, the people can make wishes by tossing the joss paper, making lotus lanterns and doing other interesting activities. To attract more visitors, the Well-Wishing Carnival is developed and people can enjoy the cultural performance such as lion dance, and food stalls and game booths in the festival.

Da Jiu Festival

In Da Jiu Festival, people pray for good weather, health and peace in their village. This festival is held in Lam Tsuen in every 10 years. It lasts for five days and six nights.

See also

References
  1. The Tai Po Book, p.41 Archived 2011-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
  2. A Brief Introduction to the History and Attractions of Lam Tsuen Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Brief information on proposed Grade II items, p.439 Archived 2013-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Brief information on proposed Grade II items, p.561 Archived 2013-02-23 at the Wayback Machine

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