00:00Here we are at Honglu Di, one of the most famous temples in northern Taiwan,
00:05dedicated to Tu Di Gong, the great lord of the land.
00:09This is my first time here, and he's huge. What do people here do?
00:13They're here to make sure the Year of the Horse is a prosperous one.
00:17Maybe they are looking for professional success, a new job, or just want to win the lottery.
00:22Alright, let's climb this mountain and see if that luck can rub off on us.
00:37Honglu Di, also known as Nanshan Fu De Temple, is located on Nanshan Mountain in New Taipei.
00:44The temple has two sections. One is located halfway up the mountain, the Wells God Temple,
00:51perfect for those who can't climb all the way to the top, but still want to pay their respects
00:56and seek blessings. The main temple is located at the very top of the mountain.
01:03This climb doesn't make me feel very lucky.
01:05You're gonna walk for it a bit, bro. People work hard for money.
01:09Are we gonna climb hard for our fortune?
01:11Alright, let's go.
01:23We finally made it to the main temple.
01:25We need to find someone who can tell us a little bit more about this place.
01:28Hello everyone.
01:29Hi.
01:30Hello.
01:32Hi.
01:32Hi.
01:32Hi.
01:34We're the Prince.
01:35We're going to talk to you about the next year,
01:36especially in the past year.
01:38Can you share with us a little bit about南山福德公?
01:42Why is it so famous?
01:43Why do you always come here?
01:46Of course, it's a good job and a good job.
01:50Because南山福德公
01:51is very proud to be here.
01:55So it's been so special for him.
01:58What have you been doing for the past year?
02:01One year after the past year.
02:03One year after the past year.
02:07We want to preach to everyone in the world to be able to do so.
02:13We want to give them a lot of money to be able to pay.
02:20I think it will be in the year of the year.
02:23Scenic like that.
02:25This is a lot of money.
02:26I have to draw travel to the past year.
02:33It seems like you can ask for anything you need here.
02:40But how do you pray like a local?
02:41Let's go through the steps.
02:43It starts with offerings.
02:45It's like when you visit someone, you always bring gifts.
02:47God's have a sweet tooth too.
02:49One of Tuti Gong's favorites is hua shang tang, peanut candy.
02:53But you can bring fruit or teas too.
02:54We wash our hands.
02:55We take a tray, bow, and leave it as an offering.
02:59Incense isn't just there to make the temple smell nice either.
03:02It's a way to communicate with deities and spirits,
03:04with smoke carrying your words to them.
03:06So we light three sticks, walk to each burner, bow,
03:09say your prayers, and place one inside.
03:12So Larry, what are you going to pray for?
03:15Just the easy stuff.
03:16Endless riches, more peace, a new girlfriend.
03:20Maybe start up small.
03:21What about winning the receipt lottery for next month?
03:25We can try that too.
03:27And you need to be honest when you pray.
03:28Talk to all the gods in the temple, not only Tuti Gong.
03:31Tell them who you are, where you live, why you're here, and what you really need.
03:35Don't be afraid to repeat yourself.
03:37All of them can hear you.
03:39But what if you like to keep Tuti Gong's good luck with you,
03:42something you can bring home?
03:44That's where one of the temple's most famous options,
03:48钱母, comes in.
03:49Think of it as seed money.
03:51We've seen a lot of money.
03:52We've heard of 钱母, this doesn't matter.
03:53We've heard of 钱母, this doesn't matter.
03:53Can you tell us, can you tell us?
03:55Let us know.
03:56We'll ask 钱母, we will ask 钱母.
04:00We will be making money.
04:02We will pay the money for our money.
04:05And we will take the money for our money for the money.
04:13And we will take the money for the money,
04:18for our money to pay the money.
04:20We walk to the back of the temple's main hall where three statues wait for us.
04:26Here we chou qian mu. We ask for spirit money, mu qian, that attracts even greater wealth.
04:32At this statue and at the next one. After collecting the two qian mu at the back,
04:37we now head to the final statue to get the last one.
04:41And the third qian mu you can get is from here, another statue in the main hall.
04:49You can also touch this statue for good luck.
04:53For example, it's said that touching the gold ingot brings wealth and prosperity,
04:58while touching the staff brings power, status, and good fortune.
05:02After collecting all the qian mu, we place them in the red bags provided by the temple.
05:08Then, most importantly, we need to activate the power with Tutigone's blessing
05:12by circling the incense burner three times and bowing.
05:16That's how the coins become lucky seed money.
05:19Now you take that little red bag home. Some common places to keep it are in your wallet,
05:23or maybe at your desk at work. If you know a good feng shui master,
05:27they can tell you where it'll be the most auspicious.
05:29But in general, wherever you want it to make the biggest impact is perfect.
05:35The temple has other spaces too. We didn't even get to show off the Hall of Light,
05:40where thousands of lamps are meticulously arranged,
05:43many carrying the name of a person who came asking for protection.
05:47Honglu Di has something for everyone. A local, a tourist, someone asking for millions,
05:54or someone who just wants to pass your next test.
05:57Howard Zhang, Andy Xie, Larry Sieno, and iQi for Taiwan Plus.
06:04Multiple platforms with customers in the burritos there.
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