Mazu statues from Taiwan were carried to the ancestral temple of the goddess in Meizhou. [Cai Hao / for China Daily]

A common belief in the goddess of Mazu is bringing people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits together, said a top official in charge of Taiwan affairs.

Zhang Zhijun, chief of the Taiwan Affairs Office at the State Council, made the remarks at the opening ceremony of Mazu Cultural Week on June 12 in Meizhou, an island in Putian city, Fujian province.

Putian is the hometown of Lin Moniang, a woman in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) known for her benevolence in helping others, especially fishermen. Lin was later deified as Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea.

Over the next millennium, Mazu has continued to be worshipped in China's coastal regions, especially in Fujian, Taiwan and Guangdong provinces.

In that time, groups of Fujian people left their home province for Taiwan, becoming the ancestors of today's Taiwanese. They also brought their native religion to the neighboring island.

Today, there are thousands of Mazu temples and more than 10 million believers in Taiwan, according to Zhang.

"We share the same language and the same beliefs. We are a family on the same boat for the same voyage," he told participants at the ceremony.

Zhang recalled a landmark event in 1987 when the first group of worshippers from Taiwan visited the ancestral temple of Mazu in Meizhou Island after decades of separation.

"Since then, the exchange between Mazu believers across the Straits has become frequent," he said.

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