The main temple on Meizhou Island is the most important temple for Mazu worshippers because of its connection with her life and because it is on this spot that she was deified. The sacrificing ceremony at this temple on the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month is especially grandiose. It is often held on the grand courtyards of the Mazu Temple and the Tianhou Temple in Meizhou, the whole process lasting about 45 minutes.

The main feature of the festival is a religious ceremony on the steps of the grand courtyards. Following this are spectacular temple fairs, with shows of music and dancing involving everything from Shaolin daredevils to beautiful dancing girls and coordinated fan-waving by hundreds of local schoolchildren.

Mazu is depicted in puppet form, flanked by her two generals, during the festival procession. Eight guards in special costumes accompany her carrying special martial arts weapons. An eight-day pilgrimage sees thousands accompanying this entourage.

The Story of Mazu

Over 1,000 years ago, a beautiful young girl by the name of Lin Mo was born in 960 at the Xianliang Port of Meizhou Bay in Putian, East China's Fujian Province. Clever, brave and kindhearted, she could forecast the weather and offered medical services to fellow islanders. With her innate weather-forecasting ability, Lin Mo saved the lives of many fishermen from the menacing typhoons. Since Lin Mo encouraged the people to conquer nature and defeat evil, she was much loved and esteemed by the locals.

Unfortunately, Lin Mo died at the young age of 28 when rescuing shipwreck victims. As the legend goes, she ascended to heaven and became an immortal at Meizhou Bay.

Moved by her philanthropic service, her fellow islanders deified her as the "daughter of the dragon", the "Goddess of the Sea" and the "Holy Mother (or Mazu)" who could bring them blessings. In 987 the Temple of Goddess Mazu was built in her memory, which sits on Meizhou Island in Putian.

The Spread of Mazu Culture

The largest Mazu temple in the world is in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in South China. The Tianhou Temple in Taiwan was built in 1685. Tianjin in North China boasts the world's third-largest Mazu temple. In Macao, scholars believe that fishermen built the Temple of A-Ma centuries ago in honor of the Goddess A-Ma (Goddess Mazu), the protectress of seafarers and fishermen. The Chinese traveling by boat often bring Mazu's statue on the journey.

The respect for Mazu has turned into a widespread belief with the passage of time. Following the footsteps of sea merchants and overseas Chinese, Mazu went out of Putian, out of Fujian and out of China, appearing in many corners of the world -- Asia, America, Australia and Europe. Consequently, several thousand Mazu temples have been built all over the world where Mazu from Meizhou is consecrated. The belief in Mazu has become a sort of transnational folk belief with more than 200 million worshippers.

According to statistics, around two-thirds of the population in Taiwan worship Mazu, and more than 1,000 Mazu temples are scattered throughout Taiwan islands. Nowadays, more and more Taiwan compatriots come to Meizhou Island to show their piety at Mazu temples.