Fuding White Tea Culture and the Inaugural Timao Niangniang Festival Procession Event
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2012-08-28
On August 23 (the seventh day of the seventh lunar month), the Fuding White Tea Culture Festival and the inaugural Taibao Niangniang Memorial Ceremony were held as scheduled. The procession, comprising over 1,000 devotees, took more than 30 minutes to walk from start to finish, while the entire parade through the city lasted over two hours.
That day marked China’s traditional Qixi Festival, also known as the Double Seventh Festival—or what many believe to be the perfect time for single men and women to pray to Goddess Taiwu for a swift and blessed romantic match. Early in the morning, Taoist practitioners from Fuding City and Taiwan gathered to hold the "Harmony & Peace in Fuding" prayer ceremony, drawing crowds of local residents eager to join in the spiritual blessings. The event also included preparations for a charitable donation drive aimed at supporting education, with funds raised to help financially disadvantaged students in Fuding secure their tuition fees. Following the ceremony, the grand procession honoring Goddess Taiwu kicked off, starting from the serene Daoist temple in Liumei Community in the city center. The procession wound its way through key streets including Jiangbin South Avenue, Haikou Road, Taiwu Avenue, Fumin Road, Tianhu Avenue, and finally returned via Yulong North Road. The vibrant parade featured over 20 distinct formations, showcasing drum bands, dragon dance troupes, waist drum teams, and other cultural groups hailing from towns like Shacheng, Qianqi, and Diandou. Among the highlights was a towering nearly 2-meter-tall statue of Goddess Taiwu, accompanied by more than 200 smaller-scale replicas of the deity. As the procession passed by, locals along the route couldn’t resist lighting incense and offering prayers at every stop. Adding to the spectacle were two massive calligraphy pieces—each measuring several meters long—featuring the phrases "Yao Confers Authority upon Goddess Taiwu" and "Goddess of Tea," which drew even more attention from spectators. The entire festival lasted well over two hours, filling the air with both devotion and festive energy.
That afternoon, the Fuding City Taoist Association and a group of Taiwanese Taoist friends traveled to Mount Taibao to participate in the "Pilgrimage to Ancestors and Tracing the Footsteps of Immortals" event. The ceremony began with a worship ritual dedicated to the Goddess Tai Mu at the Wajing Scenic Area, where participants formed neat, orderly lines, holding ceremonial flags as they performed traditional worship rites—and also engaged in a prayer-for-blessings ceremony. After the ritual concluded, everyone proceeded to pay their respects before the open-air statue of Goddess Tai Mu, honoring her divine presence.
According to Mr. Ma Shuxia, a renowned cultural figure from Fuding City, the event coincides with the day when Lady Taomu Yuhua ascended to heaven. On this occasion, over ten Taiwanese devotees brought an intricately crafted replica of Lady Taomu’s statue from temples in Taiwan to participate in the festival. In addition to parading through the city center, the festivities will also unfold sequentially in towns such as Taomushan, Diandou, and Bailin. Throughout the event, attendees can look forward to a variety of activities, including Taoist wellness culture lectures, cross-strait exchanges on white tea between Fujian and Taiwan, pilgrimages to ancestral sites tracing the footsteps of immortals, and a photography exhibition showcasing the scenic beauty of Mount Taomu. Moving forward, Fuding City plans to nominate this unique folk ritual as part of its application for inclusion in the Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
It is reported that the event is jointly organized by the Taibushan Management Committee, the Municipal Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Fuding Tea Bureau, and the Municipal Taoist Association, among other organizations. The initiative aims to explore the cultural heritage of the Taibushan Goddess belief system and enhance the global recognition of Fuding white tea.
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