Beigang Mazu Temple Fair 北港媽祖遶境

Traveling to Beigang

Beigang’s Chaotian Temple (北港朝天宮) is, by far, one of the most famous Mazu (sometimes spelled Matsu) temples in all of Taiwan. Even with visitors constantly flowing into the ornate halls of this Daoist place of worship, your average outsider will find the city quite empty. Of course, you will hear the occasional bell and chant. You can also witness locals praying and lighting incense. But to really experience Beigang’s Chaotian Temple, you’ll need to arrive for the Mazu Carnival and Mazu’s Birthday.

For two days, lasting from the 19th to the 20th of the third lunar month, the entire city of Beigang will literally be shaken with excitement. The two days are for Matu’s birthday, but the parade floats (藝閣) will actually continue to make an appearance all the way up to the 23erd.

From firecrackers rattling windows to techno music echoing down the alleyways, every known troupe of a typical temple fair will make an appearance to pay their respects to Mazu. For a traveler, this celebration will leave you completely astonished and in a state of wonder. As if from the pages of a book, traditional Taiwan will come to life before your eyes.

Want to read more about temple fairs? Be sure to check out this one in Ruifang!

Party Every Night

For the entire holiday, the small town of Beigang will be teeming with life. During the Matsu Temple Fair, hotels will be booked up months in advance. What some worshippers do to avoid sleeping out on the streets is they will arrive late in the night at Beigang. If you lack your own means of transportation to Beigang, there are several ways you can make it to the celebration.

So how can you get to Beigang? By HSR you can travel to either Chiayi (嘉義高鐵站) or Yunlin Station (雲林高鐵站). If you are coming from Chiayi HSR Station take Chiayi Bus 7235 to Beigang for 88NTD. If you are coming from Yunlin Station you can take the Taixi Bus (臺西客運) number 301 for 60 NTD.

No matter what time you arrive in Beigang, you are sure to have quite the welcome. At all hours of the night during the Mazu Temple Fair, you will find devotees circling the temple shouldering the palanquin. If you ever find yourself lost or not knowing where to find the start of the parade, just listen out for the sounds of explosions resonating throughout the city.

If you’re looking for something with more of a slower pace, you will want to be sure to visit Dr. Le Kecheng’s house in Hsinchu!

A Banger From Start to Finish

Many gods, including Mazu, eat firecrackers (吃砲) or explode the palanquin (炸轎). What this means is that devotees will lay out lines of firecrackers either in front of the cart or pile them directly under them. The firecrackers will then be lit with a bang. A huge flume of smoke will then stretch towards the sky, leaving the surrounding festival-goers draped in a coat of ash and soot.

There are many reasons for Matsu to eat firecrackers. The most simple explanation is to bless devotees and grant them a peaceful and healthy life. This is one reason why so many worshippers will rush to surround the statue before the firecrackers are ignited. Feeling the burn of the fire and the rush of the explosion then blesses the devotees. Shop owners will even light their own firecrackers under the gods in order for their next year to be prosperous.

Some other reasons to bombard the city with these miniature bombs are to welcome the gods and to ward off evil spirits. Although the firecrackers are enough to leave you holding your ears, it is nothing compared to the festival in Yanshui.

Another one of the most famous temples in Taiwan is Hsinchu’s Chenghuang Temple, check it out here!

Fueling the Parade

Starting on Mazu’s Birthday, the six different statues of Mazu will circle the entire city of Beigang. This will go on until late in the night. Shouldering the palanquin is no easy task either. The carts are not only extremely heavy, but they are housing priceless artifacts and statues made from everything from jade to gold. You can find worshippers of all ages painlessly carrying the gods around the city, seldom getting a break.

After constantly circling the city and only stopping to pile pounds of firecrackers under the carts, the worshippers of Beigang will finally get some shut-eye around 2 in the morning. Many of the devotees can be seen with their arms draped over the poles, trying to catch up on some sleep before they have to go back to making their rounds around the city and finally bringing Mazu to her home in Chaotian Gong. Along the way, volunteers have meals waiting for to scarf down before having to rush down the street with Matsu on their backs.

Buddhism is another important part of Taiwan, be sure to plan on visiting Foguangshan Monastery before you leave!

Paying Respects

The layout of the city of Beigang is fascinating. The entire city has been made with the intention of having gods and deities taken through the streets. The main street of Zhongshan Road (中山路) acts as the red carpet. From the far end of the street, you can look down on Chaotian Gong, which seems to be several kilometers away.

Zhongshan Road is where Mazu will make her final push toward the temple. This is also the street where you can find other temples coming from all over Taiwan paying their respects to Matsu. Many of the different temples are clearly indicated by their colorful uniforms. Each temple will consist of different troupes. These seemingly whimsical characters seem to come right from a dream. With everything from go-go girls to demons, your head will be left spinning trying to process all of the sights around you.

Looking to get in touch with nature? Why not take a ride on your bikes down Mr. Brown Avaneue? 

Gods and Blood

Your average foreign tourist will be able to recognize the fabled dragon and lion dances, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to point out the Be Bei-A (報馬仔). A Be Bei-A looks like a character straight out of the pages of a manga comic. Wearing circle glasses, a conical hat, as well as a fake mustache, the role of the Be Bei-A is to act as a town crier, leading the troupe. Behind him could be any number of different performers.

All strutting to the front of Chaotian Temple, spirit mediums, known as jitongs (乩童), can be seen self-mutilating in front of the temple. These bloody devotees may be flanked by the bajiajiang (八家將) or the eight generals of hell. Throw into the mix scantily clad girls dancing on top of cars (電子花車辣妹), explosions in the streets, and horns blaring from the crowd, and you have an experience that you will be unable to find anywhere else in the world.

Can’t get enough of temple fairs? Check out this amazing procession in Tainan!

A Festival to Remember

There is quite a big difference between what outsiders and Daoist devotees are attracted to in Beigang. Your average tourist will be completely enthralled with all of the colorful pageantry and performances in the streets leading to Chaotian Temple. More devout worshipers will be focused on the temple itself and the return of Mazu to her throne. Although explosions and disco music can echo outside the temple, the halls of Chaotian Gong have an air of tranquility hanging over them. Worshippers stand at attention and feel the presence of their goddess as she is rocked back in forth to the sound of a bell before finally returning to her seat.

During the same month, Beigang is not the only place with a temple fair devoted to Mazu. There are also temple fairs in Baishatun and Dajia. According to other festival-goers, Beigang’s Mazu Carnival is truly one of a kind. With so much going on in such a short amount of time, for everything you witness, five other things will pass you by. When the time finally comes for Beigang’s temple fair to draw to a close, you’re bound to already be thinking about your next trip to the city.