Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage

The Dajia Mazu pilgrimage grew from the tradition of pilgrimage to Meizhou that began when Dajia Jenn Lann Temple was founded, early departures setting out from Da-an or Wenliao harbour; the temple, built in the Yongzheng reign of the Qing, is a leading house of Mazu worship in Taiwan. After 1959 the pilgrimage was set at eight days and nights, more recently extended to nine, and is registered as an important folk custom with the Ministry of Culture's Bureau of Cultural Heritage.

Each lunar March the Mazu image of Jenn Lann Temple sets out on a nine-day, eight-night journey across four cities and counties — Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi — and twenty-one townships, covering more than three hundred kilometres; pilgrim flags, performing troupes, drum bands and over a million faithful walk in its train, the largest religious event in Taiwan.

The Dajia Mazu pilgrimage carries the core of Taiwan's Mazu devotion and the religious memory of its Hakka and Min-nan settler society; named by the Discovery Channel among the world's three great religious events, it is a key window onto Taiwan folk belief, troupe performance and community cohesion.

The pilgrimage departs from and returns to Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung.