Valentine's Day Singles Aren't Alone: Taiwan's Top Five "Love God Temples" Revealed

Travel Center / Taipei Report

With Valentine’s Day approaching, do you feel particularly lonely as a singleton? Recently, a website operator launched a Valentine’s-themed campaign where netizens votedfor Taiwan’s top five must-visit romantic spots, as well as the top five “Love God Temples,” where the most popular love deity temple is the historic and bustling Longshan Temple in Wanhua, famed for its highly efficacious Moon God (Yue Lao) worship, which garnered 12,405 votes.


▲ The Moon God (Yue Lao) at Longshan Temple — there is a specific ritual for worshipping him, so be sure not to pray incorrectly. (Photo / Provided by yam.com, the same below)

1st Place – Taipei’s Wanhua Longshan Temple

Longshan Temple consists of a front hall, main hall, rear hall, and side wings, and is designated as a second-class historic site. The Moon God (Yue Lao) at Longshan Temple is enshrined in the Moon God Hall in the rear hall and is said to be very efficacious. There is a specific procedure for worshipping the Moon God here: you must start by praying to the grand Guanyin Bodhisattva, then in order to Mazu, the God of Literature (Wen Chang Di Jun), the God of War (Guan Yu), and other deities, explaining your intention before finally approaching the Moon God.


▲ It is said that Xiahai City God Temple is highly efficacious — Japanese enka diva Kobayashi Sachiko and Hollywood actress Sarah Jessica Parker have both come here specially to pray.

2nd Place – Taipei’s Xiahai City God Temple

Located on Dihua Street, Taipei’s Xiahai City God Temple is a third-class historic site designated by the Ministry of the Interior. The main deity is the City God, while the Moon God in the adjacent hall is highly efficacious. Devotees come from all over, and due to a Japanese TV drama being filmed here, the number of foreign tourists, especially Japanese visitors, has been increasing. Many internationally renowned entertainers have come to worship, such as Japanese enka diva Kobayashi Sachiko and Hollywood actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who also came to pray for love. Kobayashi Sachiko reportedly got good news within a year of her visit. After praying to the Moon God, don’t forget to eat wedding cakes, sweets, and drink blessing tea to soak up the good fortune.


▲ Yilan’s Butian Temple is dedicated to Goddess Nuwa.

3rd Place – Yilan’s Butian Temple

Butian Temple’s main deity is Goddess Nuwa. The wooden carvings in the temple are extremely intricate and exquisite, and the temple also enshrines the Goddess of the Nine Heavens (Jiu Tian Xuan Nu) and the Earth Mother (Di Mu Zun Zhi), both believed to be highly efficacious. Nuwa is said to have established marriage rites and created the institution of marriage, acting as humanity’s first matchmaker by pairing men and women to “create humans.” Hence, she is revered as the world’s foremost matchmaker and also known as the Goddess of Marriage. Devotees often come here to pray for love, fertility, and health.


▲ The Four-Faced Buddha presides over all matters of the human world, and each of the four sides represents a different prayer focus.

4th Place – Taipei’s Changchun Four-Faced Buddha

The Four-Faced Buddha is well-known across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand, and many celebrities from these regions are devotees. The most traditional way to worship the Four-Faced Buddha in Thailand is to offer 19 sticks of incense, starting from the front and moving clockwise. As the Four-Faced Buddha governs all worldly matters, each side represents a different kind of wish: the first face is for career, the second for love, the third for wealth, and the fourth for health. However, an important note is that the vows made to the deity must be clear, specific, and definitely fulfilled.


▲ Lukang Tianhou Temple only set up a “Moon God Hall” in 2007, where the Moon God, who presides over romantic relationships, helps to tie the red thread of fate.

5th Place – Lukang Tianhou Temple

Home to Taiwan’s only surviving Mazu statue that was brought directly from Meizhou, this is also one of Taiwan’s oldest and most renowned temples. Originally, there was no Moon God Hall, but due to many parents seeking divine help for their children’s marriage prospects, the temple established the “Moon God Hall” in 2007, where the Moon God, responsible for romantic relationships, helps to tie the red thread of fate. Those coming to pray for love at the Moon God Hall must prepare white flowers (without thorns), five types of wedding sweets (without pits or sour flavors), fruit (without thorns or sourness), joss paper, red thread, and lead coins.