Hundreds of thousands of people took part in Taiwan’s 2025 Baishatun Mazu pilgrimage. The religious procession honored the sea goddess Mazu and stretched over 300 kilometers across Taiwan’s rural western plains. Pilgrims said improved technology, viral attention and personal devotion fueled the surge in participation.
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00:0015 years ago, only about 5,000 registered participants followed Baishatun's Mazu on her annual pilgrimage across Taiwan's plains.
00:12This year, that number grew to over 700,000.
00:30The pilgrimage has been held yearly since the 1860s.
00:56It's the older of two long processions held in spring.
00:59Celebrating the birthday of a Chinese tutelary deity, Mazu.
01:03Mazu is particularly important in seafaring communities along Taiwan's western coast.
01:08She's believed to protect fishermen and sailors and anyone who makes their living on the ocean.
01:14Now, she was brought from China to Taiwan centuries ago, and she's been worshipped here for about 400 to 500 years.
01:21The Baishatun Mazu pilgrimage starts and ends in Miaoli, covering up to 400 kilometers in just over a week.
01:29Half the distance is done in three days, with alternating teams of sedan chair carriers at one point running through the night.
01:36What made this check famously challenging was its lack of a set path.
01:41The route is decided by divination along the way.
01:44This stopped many people from joining, as they didn't know where or when to find Mazu.
01:49But technology, in the form of GPS, a live stream, and tracking drones, has changed that.
01:56As turnout grows, small villages and remote intersections are overwhelmed.
02:12Rural toilets, built for a handful of locals, must suddenly serve tens of thousands.
02:19Volunteers fill the gaps.
02:21Those at the front of the procession may get home-cooked meals.
02:24Those at the back, at least some leftover chips and crackers.
02:28Local truck drivers also help out, offering rides to the road-weary on their tired trucks.
02:34The way it works, for the most part, seems to be, you just wave them down and hop on.
02:40And you just find a seat where you can get it.
02:43I know I promised I'd walk the whole thing, but it's starting to look like I'll be spending a lot of time on the tired truck.
02:49Mazu is Taiwan's most revered folk deity, and her pilgrimage offers a profound, uniquely Taiwanese experience.
02:57For some, it's deeply personal.
02:59My wife's body's not good.
03:02That's the first time I接触 to the wife's house in the house.
03:07I told her, if I had a wife's body, I would like to go to the house.
03:10If I had a wife's body, I would like to go to the house every year.
03:15And then, in a year, she'd go to the house.
03:18But I still always always with the house.
03:21Then, 4年前, I had to get a baby送 for kids.
03:25That送 for kids, when the child was born,
03:27For others, the trek is an act of gratitude.
03:46For others still, it's a sense of community,
04:16and shared culture that leads them to take part.
04:40In a small country like Taiwan, a pilgrimage that draws nearly a million people means a
04:44significant share of a population is taking part.
04:49For many here, it's a way to reconnect with tradition and search for meaning, using modern
04:53tools to follow something ancient while traversing a landscape that's both physical and cultural.
04:59Ryan Wu and Brynn Thomas for Taiwan Plus.