"Meizhou is the sacred place of Matsu's birth, but Quanzhou is the base from which the Matsu faith spread to Taiwan," says chairman of Quanzhou's Empress of Heaven Temple Huang Bingyan. "Not to mention that when Meizhou was in a state of ruin, Taiwan's temples had already been coming to Quanzhou to search for their roots."
「湄洲是媽祖誕生的聖地，但是泉州卻是媽祖傳往台灣的發揚地。何況在湄洲還是一片廢墟時，就已經有台灣的寺廟來泉州尋根了」，泉州天后宮董事長黃炳元這麼說。