Fujian holds grand tribute to Mazu, China's beloved sea goddess

A grand sacrificial ceremony honoring Mazu, China's most influential sea goddess, took place on Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian Province on November 1, 2026.

Mazu is believed to have lived on Meizhou Island in the 10th century, devoting herself to helping her fellow townspeople. She is said to have died trying to rescue survivors of a shipwreck. Local residents later built a temple in her honor and began venerating her as a goddess.

Since then, Mazu has remained at the heart of a wide range of oral traditions, religious ceremonies and folk practices along China's coast. She is worshipped on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and even further afield, including in overseas Chinese communities. In 2009, Mazu beliefs and customs were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Formal temple fairs are held for her twice a year, in spring and autumn. This year's autumn ceremony featured the welcoming of the deity, incense offerings, the Three-Offering Rite ritual, and performances of traditional music and dance.

China Media Group broadcast the event live in Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew and English. Its special coverage included exclusive interviews with Mazu community leaders in Brazil and Singapore, and also highlighted the shared roots and deep ties that Mazu beliefs forge across the Taiwan Strait.