Mazu pilgrimage marks Cross-Strait Forum opening

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More than 600 Taiwan residents have attended the Mazu pilgrimage ceremony in Meizhou in Fujian Province. The ceremony marked the opening of the first Cross-Strait Forum, which will be held on Sunday.

The first Cross-Strait Forum has aroused great interest around China. Both CCTV and Fujian provincial media will carry live coverage of the forum.

Mazu devotees from Taiwan arrived in Meizhou, a city directly across the strait, to attend the pilgrimage ceremony.

The group will also attend the Cross Strait Forum, in the Xiamen this Sunday.

The forum aims to promote dialogue and understanding between the mainland and Taiwan. The head of the Mazu association from Taiwan says the two sides can help each other in many ways.

Zheng Mingkun, head of Taiwan Mazu Association, said, "We see the Cross-Strait Forum as a platform to further promote economic prosperity and cooperation. I hope the second Cross-Strait Forum will held in Taiwan."

A Mazu prayer ceremony and promotional activities supporting Mazu's application to the World Intangible Cultural Heritage list will be held in Meizhou on Saturday.

The legend of Mazu, the Chinese goddess of the sea, is deeply rooted in the eastern coastal areas. She is worshipped in over 15-hundred temples, with 100 million devotees.

The week-long Cross-Strait forum features 18 activities, including a conference, a trade fair, a cultural week, a tourism forum and a seminar on traditional Chinese medicine.

It will be co-hosted by Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Putian, three other cities in the eastern Province of Fujian.