‘Ordinary folks’ collect to praise sea goddess and maintain people-to-people ties PUBLISHED : 12 Oct 2024 at 18: 05 Pilgrims bring a sedan chair holding a statue of the sea goddess Mazu out of a temple throughout a expedition on Meizhou island in Fujian province of China on Friday. The annual occasion drawsin numerous enthusiasts who live throughout the strait in Taiwan. (Photo: Reuters) MEIZHOU, China – More than a thousand Taiwanese pilgrims gathered to Fujian province in southeastern China for a spiritual celebration, a uncommon circumstances of cross-strait cultural exchanges that are often eclipsed by political stress. On Meizhou island, home to a cluster of rural fishing towns, the deafening holler of firecrackers and gongs accompanied fans of the sea goddess Mazu, a folk divinebeing worshipped by millions in Taiwan and in seaside neighborhoods throughout southern China. The island, where fans state the goddess was born, is the most essential Mazu spiritual centre. Mazu temples on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share close cultural
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