Music and dance performance at the Mazu Festival.
The leaders of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the State awarded the plaque of the national 5A-level tourist attraction in Meizhou Island.
htmlOn the 12th, the 3-day 6th World Mazu Cultural Forum and the 23rd China Putian Meizhou Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival came to an end on Meizhou Island. The theme of this forum is "Building a Community of Shared Future for the Ocean" and is co-organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, and the People's Government of Fujian Province. It is conducted in a combination of online and offline methods. This is the first large-scale international event held by Putian City after the unblocking. With the help of this platform, Putian City has strengthened exchanges and cooperation with countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road in marine culture, marine economy, coastal tourism, etc., to enhance cultural mutual learning, people's mutual understanding, and development and sharing. Liu Jianyang, Secretary of the Putian Municipal Party Committee, said that for a long time, Mazu culture has taken root in countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road with its unique charm, becoming an important spiritual sustenance for local people, and with common cultural genes, it has built an irreplaceable and important communication bridge for cross-strait exchanges. As an important platform for inheriting the Mazu spirit and spreading Mazu culture, the World Mazu Cultural Forum and Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival held every year have become the common expectation of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and those who admire Mazu at home and abroad.Mazu culture goes out of the "international style"
The golden autumn season is a grand event, and Mazu's hometown welcomes guests. On the morning of the 1st, in the Peace Hall, the permanent site of the World Mazu Cultural Forum, a keynote speech was held passionately on the theme of "Building a Community of Shared Future for the Ocean".
"Mazu culture has become a cultural symbol of cross-border." Slovak Ambassador to China Duchamp Bella said in his keynote speech that Mazu perfectly interprets the precious qualities of the Chinese people's bravery, diligence, wisdom, kindness, peace-loving and contributing to society. This respected goddess of peace conveys her spiritual power and the voice of peace to the world. Holding the World Mazu Culture Forum will help expand the influence of Mazu culture and promote the dissemination of the common cultural heritage of all mankind on a global scale.
Dushan Bella has a special fate with Mazu culture. This is his third time in more than a year when he visited Meizhou Island. At the end of October last year, Duchamp Bella was invited to attend the 5th World Mazu Culture Forum and invited two Mazu statues to bring back to Slovakia. In August this year, he took his wife to Meizhou Island for vacation. In May and June this year, Duchamp Bella also organized a Mazu Ceramic Exhibition at the Slovakian Embassy in China, inviting ambassadors to more than 10 countries including Indonesia, Austria, Iceland to China and counselors of more than 20 countries to participate to help spread Mazu culture.
Xia Zehan, representative of the UNESCO representative office in China, said that Mazu's beliefs and Mazu commemorative activities are deeply integrated into the lives of Chinese coastal residents and their descendants, and are an important link to promote unity, harmony, mutual learning, and mutual assistance. Hope the Forum takes Mazu culture as the main line, strengthens cooperative relations, promotes cultural and artistic exchanges, promotes sustainable development, and successfully promotes pluralism, forming an atmosphere of mutual appreciation, mutual understanding and mutual respect.
"Mazu culture is the core carrier of Chinese marine culture." Bu Xianqun, director of the Institute of Ancient History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the ways and ways to build a community with a shared future for the ocean are multi-level and multi-channel, and require the joint efforts of people from all countries around the world. Practicing the Mazu spirit of "establishing morality, doing good, and great love" and the maritime concept of "a sea of peace, a sea of cooperation, and a sea of harmony", and enhancing cultural connectivity, economic and trade integration, resonance with the people, and development sharing of countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road are effective ways and useful attempts to build a community with a shared future for the ocean.
Due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, many politicians and well-known people from many countries and regions were unable to attend the forum. They sent congratulatory letters and congratulatory videos to the organizing committee of this forum.
Thailand Congress President Chuan Lipai mentioned in his congratulatory letter that Mazu is an important cultural symbol in marine civilization and is highly respected in China and Thailand. Therefore, the World Mazu Cultural Forum plays an important role in strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries."When I participated in the World Mazu Culture Forum, I felt the spiritual bond that Mazu connected. It narrowed the distance between different ethnic groups and regions and deepened the exchange between different cultures." Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who participated in the World Mazu Culture Forum online and offline twice, said in the congratulations video. The combination of
online and offline to break through the time and space boundaries of Mazu cultural exchanges is a highlight of this forum. The 7th International Mazu Culture Academic Seminar, one of the forum’s supporting activities, invited experts and scholars from countries and regions such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, the United States, Australia and other countries to attend the conference, and discussed the topics such as Mazu cultural exchanges and research on cultural identity among overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese, and the exploration and research of Mazu documents and historical materials.
"The World Mazu Culture Forum has become an important platform and carrier for countries around the world to transcend regions, transcend skin color and language barriers, and to smooth the research on Mazu culture." Lin Jinzan, chairman of the board of directors of Meizhou Mazu Temple, said that under the strong promotion of the forum, Mazu culture has been further promoted, which has greatly promoted the international brand effect of Mazu culture. At present, there are 52 countries and regions where Mazu culture is spread, with more than 300 million Mazu admirers and more than 10,000 Mazu temples, which has become a spectacular cultural phenomenon.
Deeply integrate culture and tourism
"The Mazu Festival is solemn and solemn, full of ritual, and it is really shocked." On the morning of the 1st, Ms. Cai, a tourist from Fuzhou who witnessed the Meizhou Mazu Temple, witnessed the Meizhou Mazu Ceremony held here that day, said. The Mazu Festival has a long history and is known as the three national-level Chinese traditional festivals together with the Yellow Emperor Mausoleum Festival and the Confucius Temple Festival. It has been included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
The opening ceremony of the day was also held, and the plaque awarding ceremony for the 5A-level tourist attractions in Mazu Cultural Tourism Zone, Meizhou Island was also held. Meizhou Island not only has the Mazu culture that has been accumulated for thousands of years, but also has the beautiful coastal scenery given by nature. It combines blue sea, golden sand, green forest, sea rock, strange stones and temples. The island has more than 30 scenic spots of various types, including Goose Tail Sea Erosion Geopark, Golden Sand Beach, Meiyu Chaoyin, etc. At the end of last year, the Mazu Cultural Tourism Zone of Meizhou Island was promoted to a national 5A-level tourist attraction.
In June 11988, Meizhou Island was designated as the Fujian Province Open Tourism Economic Zone; in September 1992, it became the first national tourist resort in the country; in August 2002, it was rated as a national 4A tourist attraction; in October 2012, it was included in a national scenic spot.
From "4A" to "5A". Behind the seemingly simple digital changes is actually a qualitative leap in the scenic area from facilities to connotation to services. Since 2014, Meizhou Island has invested a total of more than 800 million yuan, focusing on promoting tourism infrastructure construction, tourism industry cultivation, tourism services improvement, etc. The scenic spot's tourism environment is more beautiful, tourism characteristics are more distinctive, tourism products are richer, and the potential for sustainable development continues to be enhanced.
Relevant person in charge of the Meizhou Island Tourism and Culture and Sports Bureau said that the Meizhou Island Mazu Cultural Tourism Zone has successfully created a 5A-level scenic spot, effectively integrating the island's tourism resources, standardizing and innovating the management system and mechanism, and improving the popularity, reputation and influence of the Meizhou Island tourism brand.
htmlOn October 7, the last day of the National Day holiday, Putian was "unsealed". Starting the next day, Meizhou Island, the national tourist resort, began to open the doors to welcome guests in an orderly manner. In more than half a month, from pressing the "pause button" to the "restart button", the Meizhou Island tourism market has gradually recovered. html From October 14 to 15, Meizhou Island held a series of activities to commemorate the 1034th anniversary of Mazu's feathering ascension, including the Mazu Golden Body Tour, the Sea Sacrifice Mazu Ceremony, and the Works Exhibition of Famous Calligraphers and Paintings on the Strait, which attracted representatives from many Mazu cultural institutions at home and abroad to participate, and the grand occasion was extraordinary.During this Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival, Meizhou Island also held supporting activities such as paper-cutting art exhibition, ceramic works exhibition, "Xiangrui Meizhou" folk song and dance scene show, "Meizhou Women's Bun" performance competition, cross-strait food festival, souvenir exhibition and sales, and many tourists came here.
As early as 2011, Meizhou Island successfully won the title of "World Festival City" in the category of less than 100,000 urban population.In recent years, Meizhou Island has successively held large-scale festival activities such as the World Mazu Return to My Mother's Home, Meizhou Mazu Tour of the World, Summer Beach Music Season, Straits Forum Mazu Cultural Activities Week, Meizhou Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival and World Mazu Cultural Forum, as well as a series of tourism and cultural experience activities such as the Kite Festival, Rainbow Run, Bicycle Island Tour, etc., which has enriched the Mazu cultural tourism industry.
In recent years, Meizhou Island has also actively explored new paths for cross-strait integration and development, and introduced a series of policies and measures to benefit Taiwanese compatriots and Taiwanese enterprises, attracting many Taiwanese compatriots and Taiwanese enterprises to come to travel, start businesses and find jobs. Zheng Yaping, from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, has been influenced by Mazu culture since she was a child. Because of Mazu culture, she has become a connection with Meizhou Island. At the end of 2018, she founded a horseshoe catering bar next to the mountain gate of Mazu Temple, becoming the first Taiwanese-funded catering company on the island. Since then, she opened a branch in Lianchi Beach, and her business has grown bigger and bigger.
Lin Shaowen, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Meizhou Island, said that Meizhou Island will protect the precious natural ecological resources on the island, promote the deep integration of culture and tourism, and build Meizhou Island into a more beautiful and charming international tourist destination for Mazu culture.
Source: Fujian Daily
