Mazu Cultural Center to Be Built on Meizhou Island

Putian city will increase its investments into Meizhou island and complete a Mazu cultural center and Mazu worship center by the year 2010, according to a spokesman for Putian city in Fujian province.

Meizhou island is located off the western bank of the Taiwan Strait, in Meizhou bay. It is famous for being the hometown of Mazu, the goddess of peace at sea. The Tianhou Gong (Temple of the Queen of Heaven) on Meizhou island, built during the Song dynasty, is the earliest temple of Mazu. It is considered the temple from which all other temples of Mazu sprang from.

Because of cross-Strait confrontations, Meizhou island was not developed for a long time. As late as the eighties, it was still a very backward fishing village. Only after October 1992, when the State Council approved the construction of a national level tourist resort there, did Meizhou open up to the outside.

In recent years, more than 600 million renminbi have been invested to completely renovate the temple of Mazu. According to the planning, 450 million renminbi has also been invested to develop Meizhou's beaches and other tourist spots. By 2010, investments into the island will have exceeded 5 billion renminbi.

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