Radio Taiwan International
Date: 15 June, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Taiwan’s largest annual religious pilgrimage has been simplified this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials have taken steps to make sure disease prevention is a priority, but organizers are finding it hard to enforce the rules as the Goddess of the Sea passes through. 

The Mazu Pilgrimage is a nine day, eight night religious procession that takes place every year. An idol of the sea goddess Mazu is transported on a palanquin from Zhenlan Temple in Central Taiwan to Fengtian Temple in the South and back again. This year, organizers delayed and then streamlined the pilgrimage in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

One of the silver linings to the downsized festival is that Mazu is getting where she needs to go much faster. The procession arrived at its first stop three hours ahead of schedule. This tunnel, which is usually packed to the gills, took just three minutes to traverse. 
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