Hanlu Temple · A temple you can walk into
Yuelao Shrine
A long hall facing east on the west side of the compound, dedicated to a god who is not Buddhist at all.
In the hall
Single eaves, a row of windows on the east side, red-robed figure with a white beard, a staff in one hand and a register in the other.
The register is the point. It is the book that supposedly already has your name in it.
Who is this
Yuelao comes from a Tang dynasty tale, "The Betrothal Inn" in Xu Xuanguai Lu. An old man sits in the moonlight reading a marriage register, and ties couples together at the ankle with a red cord.
That image gave Chinese its proverb about a single thread binding two people across a thousand li. He is a matchmaker, not a love god: his business is the match, not the feeling.
In a real temple
The best-known shrine is at Baiyun Nunnery by West Lake in Hangzhou, where the courtyard is permanently crowded. Most Yuelao shrines are small and stand alone, not inside Buddhist temples.
Offerings vary by region: red thread, sweets for a sweet match, round cakes for completeness. One custom says do not bring an umbrella, because san, the word for umbrella, sounds like the word for scattering.
Written in English for readers outside China; the Chinese version is longer. All eight lots of this hall are in the lot library.