Taiwan Welcomes the World to a Vibrant 2025 Mazu Festival

VANCOUVER, BC, May 12, 2025 /CNW/ -- The Taiwan Tourism Administration has announced the successful conclusion of the 2025 Mazu (Matsu) Festival, a weeks-long religious and cultural celebration that drew record crowds and international visitors across Taiwan. Centered around processions honoring the sea goddess Mazu – one of Taiwan's most revered deities – the festival showcased the island's rich folk traditions, community spirit, and hospitality.

Celebrating Taiwan's Beloved Sea Goddess

Mazu, also known as the "Queen of Heaven," is a deity worshipped in Taiwan as a protector of seafarers and bringer of blessings. Mazu's legend has grown over centuries; today she is venerated by millions for her benevolence and protection in all aspects of life. The annual Mazu Festival (held during the third lunar month) is the most important celebration of this goddess's birthday and is one of Taiwan's largest religious events, recognized alongside the world's top pilgrimage traditions. Each spring, entire communities mobilize to honor Mazu with spectacular rituals and pilgrimages, praying for peace and good fortune.

Island-wide Pilgrimages Draw Record Crowds

This year's festival unfolded from early April to mid-May, featuring two major Mazu pilgrimage routes that spanned hundreds of kilometers across central Taiwan. In early April, the famed Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage set off from Zhenlan (Jenn Lann) Temple in Dajia, Taichung. The nine-day, eight-night journey covered about 340 km, winding through Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin, and Chiayi counties before returning to Dajia. The procession's route included over a hundred temples and villages – 110 temples according to organizers – as local devotees turned out to welcome the goddess's palanquin. Festivities began with a dramatic night-time sendoff on April 4, when an estimated 600,000 worshippers packed the streets to bid Mazu farewell at the start of her journey. Along the way, many temples hosted performances and ceremonies to honor Mazu, from firecracker displays to traditional drum and lion dance parades. Communities large and small offered free food and shelter to pilgrims, embodying the festival's spirit of hospitality and faith.

Two weeks later in May, the Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage – Taiwan's longest religious procession on foot – commenced in Miaoli County. Departing Baishatun's Gongtian Temple just after midnight on May 2, a record-breaking 329,118 devotees registered to accompany Mazu's palanquin on its journey south. This 10-day pilgrimage is unique in that its route is not pre-set; at each fork in the road, temple guides cast divination blocks seeking Mazu's guidance on which way to go. As a result, the convoy often detours through small villages and rural shrines, bringing Mazu's blessings to remote communities. The Baishatun procession ultimately traveled over 300 kilometers (nearly 400 km round-trip) from Miaoli, through Taichung and Changhua, to its destination at Yunlin's Beigang Chaotian Temple. There, thousands gathered for a jubilant welcoming ceremony as the Mazu effigy arrived on May 3, greeted by ringing temple bells and cheers of devotees.

Rituals, Traditions and Cultural Highlights

Throughout the festival, colorful rituals and performances highlighted Taiwan's living folk culture. As Mazu's palanquin traversed city streets and country lanes, worshippers jostled for a chance to touch or shoulder the ornate sedan chair, believing it brings good luck. Some devotees even lay flat on the ground, allowing the palanquin to pass over them – a traditional act of faith said to bathe the believer in Mazu's blessings. At night, the sky was lit up by fireworks and the cacophony of firecrackers, though in a nod to sustainability some processions used eco-friendly, smokeless firecrackers to reduce air pollution.

Key cultural events accompanied the religious observances. In Taichung, a Mazu International Culture Festival brought folk arts to life with temple courtyard stages featuring Taiwanese opera and puppet theater. Troops like the renowned Ming Hwa Yuan drama troupe performed classical opera pieces in Mazu's honor, while puppet shows and acrobatic dance troupes entertained pilgrims and tourists alike . Along the pilgrimage routes, local performance troupes and marching bands joined in, creating a carnival-like atmosphere celebrating both the sacred and the festive.

Unprecedented Turnout and Global Participation

The 2025 Mazu Festival saw unprecedented participation, reflecting a post-pandemic resurgence of Taiwan's temple culture and its growing appeal to international visitors. Organizers estimate that well over one million people in total took part in this year's Mazu pilgrimages and related events. The Dajia pilgrimage alone drew crowds peaking at around 800,000 during its grand finale in Taichung, while the Baishatun trek's flexible entourage swelled beyond the official 329,000 registered pilgrims as many joined informally en route (potentially over 400,000 in all). These figures mark all-time highs for the festival. Not only did devotees from across Taiwan turn out in droves, but thousands of tourists traveled to witness the spectacle. According to local travel agencies, special Mazu pilgrimage tour packages were hugely popular – one leading tour operator served over 3,000 tour participants this year (a 50% increase from the previous year) as overseas visitors jumped at the chance to experience the celebrations.

"The Mazu Festival is a living expression of Taiwan's spiritual heritage and community vitality," said Sylvia Lee, Director of the San Francisco Office of the Taiwan Tourism Administration. "We are proud to see record participation this year, not only from our citizens but also from international visitors. We especially invite our Canadian friends to experience this one-of-a-kind journey next year — to walk with Mazu, share in our traditions, and feel the warmth of Taiwan's hospitality."

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To learn more about Taiwan's temple culture, and to plan your trip to Taiwan for next year's Mazu Festival, visit the Taiwan Tourism Information Centre in Vancouver at Unit 626, 6081 No. 3 Road, Richmond, BC V6Y 2B2.

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SOURCE Taiwan Tourism Administration