The Yilan Lanyang Matsu Festival, for the first time this year, is to allow 800 members of the public to board the flotilla of ships escorting the deity during the cultural event.
The Yilan County Government on Tuesday said that it has reserved 200 spots for Yilan residents, each of whom would pay NT$350 for the trip, and 600 slots for people who do not live in Yilan who would pay NT$888.
The first 150 non-Yilan residents who register would receive free lodging for the entire event to encourage people who do not live in the county to participate, the county government said.
Photo courtesy of the Yilan County Government
Believers would gather at the Nanfangao Fishing Harbor on Sept. 22 and board the ships before sailing north, circling past Turtle Island (Gueishan Island, 龜山島) and docking at Wushi Harbor in in Toucheng Township (頭城) at noon, it said.
Those who register for the event would receive a card on which to collect five stamps along the way. The completed card can be exchanged for a commemorative T-shirt and cap at the Tianzhao Temple in Dongshan Township (冬山).
The county government said it would begin accepting registrations on Tuesday next week.
The event would be divided into three sections over two and half days: one over land, the next by sea and the third in vehicles, it said.
Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙) said that many people were worried during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was thanks to Matsu’s protection that Yilan County had emerged safe and relatively stable.
Their belief in Matsu had given county residents the solace and fortitude they needed to weather the pandemic, she said.
The event’s primary organizer, Nantian Temple director Lin Chi-shan (林棋山), said the tour would give all participants a great view of land and sea.
He said he hoped the event would go smoothly and bring significant economic prosperity to the county.
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