The Mazu Folklore Museum on Meizhou Island documents the spread of the Mazu cult from its origins on this island across the Chinese-speaking world. The collection covers the iconography of the goddess — the different forms her image takes in different regions and periods — alongside ritual objects, offerings, temple furniture, and photographs from Mazu festivals in Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Chinese diaspora communities of Southeast Asia.
The museum is the best place on the island to understand the scale and reach of the tradition: more than three thousand temples worldwide, 200 million worshippers, and a cult that has been accepted by both the communist state and the Taiwanese government as a cultural treasure. Signage is bilingual in Chinese and English, making it one of the more accessible institutions on the island for foreign visitors.