Soak up the atmosphere and learn about a key part of Taiwanese culture. Matsu is one of the most popular gods in the Taiwanese pantheon and an epicenter of local culture. Try some of the amazing cultural delicacies along the road adjoining the temple entrance like Spring Onion soup.
Da Jia’s Matsu temple is the main center in Taiwan for worshipping the goddess of the sea/sailors, Matsu. Built in 1770 and restored in 1980, the current statue of Matsu was originally transported from Fujian province in China during the Qing dynasty and through successive generations has developed into a large temple. On the 23rd of the third lunar month, over 1 million followers of Matsu (known as incense guests or 香客) gather in Dajia for the annual Matsu pilgrimage (大甲媽祖繞境進香). This pilgrimage is the biggest religious event in Taiwan and sees the statue transported 330 kilometers from Matsu and through Changhua, Yunlin, Chiayi and Taichung before ending back in Dajia. There are 390 Matsu temples worshipping the deity in Taiwan and the pilgrimage tries to stop by many of them over an 8 day procession. The festival has become even more hectic recently with the growing numbers of Chinese worshippers from mainland China who come to join. In 2017, the procession will be held around April 19 on Matsu’s birthday.
Details
158 Shùn tiān Road, Dajia Dist., Taichung City
台中市大甲順天路158號
Tel: (04) 2687 2101/2676 3522
Open: 3.30am to 11:00pm (entry FREE)
Getting There
By Train: Take the train from Taichung station to Chunghwa station and change onto the line for Dajia. Once you reach Dajia station, walk 200m to the temple. There’s also a museum documenting the temple’s history nearby.
By Bus: From Taichung Train Station take the Fuxing Shuttle bus (2614) (operated by Taiwan Railways) to Dajia train station (approx. 50 mins). Walk 400m along Jiangong Rd to reach the Daijia Jenn Lann Temple.
References
http://www.dajiamazu.org.tw/
https://plus.google.com/115010681173469389729/about?gl=tw&hl=en
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/taiwan/ (Info on all Taiwanese Festivals this current year)
Photo Credits
First Image By Mnb at Chinese Wikipedia – Transferred from zh.wikipedia to Commons by Pbdragonwang using CommonsHelper., CC BY-SA 3.0, Link;
Second Image By Voice of America – http://www.voafanti.com/gate/big5/www.voachinese.com/content/mazu-20130415/1641573.html, Public Domain, Link