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| Meizhoudao Island |
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Meizhou Island is closely offshore of Putian, Fujian, China. It is
most famous for being the birthplace of the goddess Matsu. Meizhou
has 38,000 inhabitants, most of which have traditionally been in fishery.
In the northern part of the mouth of Meizhou Bay, Meizhou Island is
14.35 km2, 9.6 km north-south, and 1.3 km east-west. The beach is
20-km.
In June 1988, Meizhou became an open provincial tourism economic
region. And in April 1992, Taiwanese were allowed have landing visas
on the island, and in October of the same year, it became a national
tourism-vacation region. In October 1999, the island is formally
opened to foreign nations.
Annually, 100,000 Taiwanese pilgrims come to Meizhou to see the
place where Matsu once lived. Some pilgrims make the visit every
year. A celebration takes place in October, with 1,200 attending.
The Heavenly Empress Palace-Meizhou Ancestral Temple started as
a small shrine soon after Matsu's death in the 10th century. It
is now renovated and greatly enlarged to accommodate the pilgrims.
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