Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-10
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Matsu Pilgrimage Procession, which is hailed as one of the world’s three largest religious activities and included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
The procession started a nine-day, eight-night and 330km “inspection tour” on Friday night at the Jenn Lann Temple in Dajia District, Taichung City, where Dajia Matsu is enshrined.
Along the tour the carved figure of Matsu, the Chinese Goddess of the Sea, who is carried in a palanquin on bearers’ shoulders, along with her devoted followers, will visit 110 temples. Dajia Matsu is scheduled to come back to the Jenn Lann Temple on April 17 at the end of the tour.
The procession entered Changhua County from Taichung City on Saturday afternoon to huge crowds of cheerful believers who packed the streets.
Before the arrival of the procession, many enterprises and businesses in the county had set up tents along the route to provide the followers with free vegetarian foods and places to rest. [FULL STORY]