A one-day tour to cultural and historic sites in Nanshan District is to open in the next two months, district government sources said.
The tour is being sponsored by the district bureaus of culture and tourism and the cultural and historic site administration office.
The route is scheduled to include the Tianhou Palace, which contains the province's largest Matsu Temple, the Left Emplacement and mausoleum of the last and youngest emperor in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) at Chiwan, Shekou, in the morning, and the Nantou Ancient City with the largest and most historic relic in the city in the afternoon.
Both the Tianhou Palace and the mausoleum were built in the Song Dynasty while the Left Emplacement dates from the Qing Dynasty (1662-1722).
The Nantou Ancient City is located close to the Xin'an Old City in Nantou, Nanshan District. It reportedly has a history of almost 2,000 years. More than 300 relics were unearthed there, most of them porcelain. Archaeologists also found relics of corner watchtowers, which were previously only found in Wuchang, Hubei Province, a very famous town in Chinese history.
The tour was originally opened to university students, including students from abroad, and middle and primary school students on a trial basis, said Long Hui, curator of the Nanshan Tianhou Museum.
The Tianhou Palace in Chiwan has been a popular spot all year round, particularly during the Spring Festival and around the birthday of the goddess of the sea, March 23 of the Chinese lunar year, since 1995, when it was renovated and reopened to the public, said Long.
The tour will feature the palace as there are many Matsu worshippers in Hong Kong,
Macao and Taiwan.
The birthday of Matsu this year happened to fall on Tuesday when Long said more than 3,000 worshippers went there to worship with singing and dancing to celebrate her birthday.
"The celebrations actually started days earlier before Tuesday and the spectacle was very touching," he said.
Tianhou, also known as Matsu or Heavenly Holy Mother, is the Chinese goddess of the sea. According to legend, her original name was Lin Muoniang, who was born in 960 (during the early Northern Song Dynasty) as the seventh daughter of Lin Yuan on
Meizhou Island, Fujian. She died at 28, when she climbed a mountain alone and flew to heaven and became a goddess. Her worship has been spreading widely along the southeastern coastal provinces and regions of China, such as Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Tianhou's birthday is celebrated to bring safety, security, fine weather and full nets during the coming year. At present, there are around 1,500 Matsu temples in about 30 countries and regions of the world, of which some 800 to 1,000 Taiwanese temples dedicated wholly or partly to Matsu. There are reportedly about 16 million Matsu worshippers in Taiwan.
To cater for the tastes of tourists, another one-day tour of Nanshan will also be promoted featuring two additional scenic spots, Evergreen Resort and the fruit plantation in Xili Township.
