Northern Taiwan Wealth-Praying Day Trip
Three of Taipei's busiest wealth-praying temples in a single day. Start the morning at Xingtian Temple, where Guan Sheng Dijun — Lord Guan, the merchants' patron of loyalty and good faith — presides over the 'honest wealth' earned by fair dealing. Around midday, cross town to Songshan Ciyou Temple, where Mazu is asked for the quieter blessing of a safe, steady livelihood. By late afternoon you reach the Xia-Hai City God Temple on Dihua Street, where the City God governs opportunity and fortune — and Yue Lao, the Matchmaker God, waits in the same small hall. Finish at Dadaocheng Wharf as the sun goes down over the river. Every stop is a short walk from an MRT station.
🚇 All by MRT and on foot — no car needed. An EasyCard covers every train and bus.
🙏 Pray for: A thriving career and honest wealth
Xingtian Temple is dedicated to Guan Sheng Dijun — Lord Guan (Guan Yu) — whom the business world treats as its guardian. His two great virtues, loyalty and keeping one's word, are exactly the 'honest wealth' that merchants come to pray for. It is one of the busiest temples in Taipei, and its free soul-calming (shoujing) blessing is a quiet ritual worth witnessing.
💡 Xingtian Temple burns no incense, sells no gold paper, and keeps no donation box — you simply press your palms together and pray. The soul-calming line can get long, so a weekday morning is your best bet.
🙏 Pray for: Peaceful prosperity and a settled household
Songshan Ciyou Temple is the spiritual heart of the Songshan district, dedicated to Mazu, the Heavenly Holy Mother. Beyond wealth, what Mazu grants is 'prospering in peace' — settle yourself first, then let the business grow. It is the old merchants' wisdom.
💡 The temple sits right at the mouth of the Raohe Street Night Market. If your day runs into the evening, praying and then wandering straight into the market is the local move.
🙏 Pray for: Opportune fortune, good connections, and love
The Xia-Hai City God Temple on Dihua Street is famous across Taiwan for its Yue Lao, the Matchmaker God — but the City God himself governs a district's rewards, punishments, and chances. For a person in business, this is where you pray for the 'fortune of timing': the right moment, the right people, the right connections.
💡 The temple is small, but the stream of worshippers never stops. Afterward, walk the length of Dihua Street — the dried-goods sellers, herbal-medicine halls, and fabric shops are century-old family businesses, and it is the most characterful place to pick up a gift to take home.
Hour-by-Hour Plan
- 09:30 Xingtian Temple (Guan Sheng Dijun — praying for career and honest wealth)
- 10:45 MRT from Xingtian Temple Station to Songshan Station (change at Zhongshan Junior High for the Songshan line, about 20 minutes)
- 11:30 Songshan Ciyou Temple (Mazu — praying for peaceful prosperity)
- 12:30 Lunch around Raohe Street: Fuzhou pepper buns and herbal pork-rib soup
- 14:15 MRT from Songshan Station to Beimen Station (about 25 minutes)
- 15:00 Xia-Hai City God Temple (City God & Yue Lao — praying for opportunity)
- 16:00 Stroll Dihua Street: dried goods and gifts to take home
- 17:30 Finish at Dadaocheng Wharf for the sunset over the Tamsui River
What to Eat Nearby
🍜 Raohe St. Night Market — Fuzhou Pepper Buns
Songshan Ciyou Temple sits right at the entrance to Raohe Street Night Market, and slipping straight in after praying to Mazu is the local move. The name to know here is the Fuzhou pepper bun — slapped onto the wall of a charcoal oven and baked fresh, the crust comes out blistered and crisp, and the first bite floods with peppery pork and scallion. Worth the wait in line.
🍜 Dadaocheng — Dried Goods & Traditional Pastries
Dihua Street, home to the Xia-Hai City God Temple, has been Taipei's dried-goods heart for over a century. Once you've prayed to the City God and Yue Lao, work your way down the street: the herbal-medicine halls, dried-goods sellers, and old pastry shops are the place to pick up a gift. A box of traditional Chinese pastries or a bag of dried goods carries far more of Dadaocheng than any night-market snack.
📝 All three temples are free to enter. Crowds swell on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month and on weekends, so if you prefer some quiet, go on a weekday. The general rule for wealth-praying: state your name, birth date, and address, explain what you are asking for, and pledge only a thanks-offering you can comfortably keep.