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Rosendo: Today on "Travelscope," I explore Taiwan's Matsu Islands, named in honor of the goddess of the sea, and then I follow the Matsu pilgrimage to spiritual, secular, and explosive adventures.

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Rosendo: Matsu, goddess of the sea, the heavenly princess who protects the nation and shelters the people, is Taiwan's most revered deity.

Brought to Taiwan in the 17th century by immigrants from China's Fujian Province, she is honored in hundreds of temples throughout Taiwan, and every year, the Dajia Matsu pilgrimage, a Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage, departs from Taichung.

Equally boisterous and solemn, the 9-day, 200-mile procession is one of the world's largest religious festivals, attracting more than a million participants a year.

On my latest Taiwan adventure, I'll catch up to the pilgrimage after I follow Matsu's spell from Isla Formosa, the beautiful Isle of Taiwan, to Taiwan's remote Matsu Islands.

Taiwan has 13 national scenic areas, with the Matsu Islands joining the family in 1999.

The archipelago is made up of 19 islands and islets, of which Nangan and Beigan are two of only 6 open to tourists.

Long a military stronghold, much of its recent history is linked to Taiwan's rocky relationship with the looming People's Republic of China, which may contribute to the islanders' devotion to Taiwan's favorite deity.

Completed in 2009, this near-hundred-foot Matsu is the world's tallest statue of Taiwan's Queen of Heaven.

Matsu is beloved by all because she represents Taiwan better than any other deity.

She is the goddess of the sea, and the sea is Taiwan's greatest natural resource.

It has provided the country sustenance and been an avenue of escape from war and persecution and a pathway to a better life, and perhaps because these islands, so far from Taiwan and so near China, have always been threatened by their unruly neighbor that they have named the islands after her in order to gain the protection of her great powers.

So far, so good.

Evidence of the island's past and present importance as a military outpost can be seen in the bunkers, strongholds, tunnels, and many patriotic messages still prominently displayed not only on Nangan, but also on the other Matsu Islands.

While more than 100 miles from Taiwan, the Matsu Islands are only 10 miles from the Chinese mainland.

The archipelago's close proximity to China has made it a prime military installation since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

When martial law ended in Taiwan in 1987, the military abandoned their sites on many of the islands, and they were opened for tourism in 1994.

The military tunnels of the Matsu Islands are an engineering wonder.

Beihai Tunnel, one of many that still exist on the islands, could hold up to 100 small naval vessels.

These days on a visit, you can enjoy a fascinating 30-minute walk on the footpath or a 15- to 20-minute boat ride.

Using picks and axes, shovels and explosives, more than 10,000 Taiwanese soldiers worked around the clock for more than 800 days to construct the Beihai Tunnel.

Many lives were lost, and at the end of the heroic task, it was discovered that high tides rendered it militarily useless.

The Matsu Islands are peppered with more than 250 military tunnels.

They're relics of the on-again, off-again relationship with the People's Republic of China.

This is Tunnel 88.

It's almost 800 feet long, and these days, it's being used for the storage and aging of more than 400,000 liters of sorghum wine, a real improvement over the former use of the tunnels.

While Nangan is the biggest and busiest of the Matsu Islands, it is only 4 square miles, so it doesn't take long to go from seeing the wines aging in Tunnel 88 to sampling them at a traditional meal at Ima's, Grandma's House.

[Indistinct voices] This is the old wine.

Wow.

Now, the foods of the Matsu Islands come from Northern Fujian Province in China, and so you still get the flavors of Fujian with local ingredients, and this was originally a fishing village, and you still are getting the bounty of the sea, so everything is local.

Gan bei.

[Woman speaking Mandarin] Next day, I head out at dawn to discover another of Matsu's Fujian specialties.

Mr. Kao is the only baker in Nangan who can still make Jinguang Cake.

And what's interesting about it is it, um...it looks a lot like a bagel.

And who would have thought that the bagel design would be useful for feeding warriors?

Because the hole in the middle was what they used to tie a string through, and the warriors would wear them, and they'd be able to easily transport them as they were traveling and eating along the way, I imagine.

It's like a little drumbeat here.

[Banging] All right.

We're making music.

Ooh.

Good.

Good?

Oh, OK. Great.

I'm hired.

OK. OK. Up and... That I could have done.

After the hole's put in, the sesame seeds go on, and they're baked, not boiled, in a tandoori-like oven.

Let's cook them.

That is really cool.

Now, the reason it's called a Matsu burger is because they slice them and they fill them with whatever you really want.

Nothing like bread right out of the oven.

Ah.

Mmm.

Delicious.

Xiexie.

Thank you.

Wonderful job.

Xiexie, xiexie.

Great partnership, eh?

Working the cabbage crop in the countryside in Nangan Island.

No, I'm not.

I'm working in the community garden in the center of the most commercial part of Nangan Island.

Islanders are extremely resourceful, and this piece of arable ground has been given over to the residents to work, and they produce cabbage here, sweet radish, baby bok choy for their tables, and we'll also see it in the market.

Now, this is something you'll probably only find in a market in Nangan on the Matsu Islands, the abundance of shellfish.

Seafood is one of the reasons people come here.

This is Buddha's Hand.

You can actually see the 5 fingers.

All of this you'll find on the menus in the restaurants here and certainly in the market.

[Woman speaking indistinctly] Omelet, oyster cake-- two of the offerings here at the market.

You know, some people have problems with eating street food and market food.

I don't.

But the real specialty here on the island is over here.

This is dien bien phu.

It's a specialty here on this island, and what it is is rice flour that she puts into the wok, boiling water, a broth really, a seafood broth, and as it starts to cook, the rice flour becomes almost like a noodle.

That goes inside the soup, and it's a breakfast dish, only here in the morning, only here for a short period of time.

Dien bien phu-- Hard to say, delicious to eat, it's very yaolet, which means delicious.

Ni hao.

Ni hao.

Ni hao.

Ni hao.

Ni hao.

Yaolet.

Because of its compact size, most of Nangan's attractions can be found along the scenic Jinren and Magang footpaths.

The Jinren Trail leads to the historic village of Jinsha.

A highlight of your hike through Nangan Island is Jinsha Village.

Jinsha means golden sands, and the village is located on one of the island's loveliest coves and white sand beaches.

Yet it's noted for its ancient Northern Fujian stone architecture.

Some of the abandoned and still-occupied houses date back to that time.

Man: Chinese tea.

Wow.

So, some good Chinese tea.

Yeah, good Chinese tea.

So, this house is about 100 years old, and this village when it was prosperous and there were people living here, was it a very big, large building?

This is the largest in Matsu, because before here, many fish.

My family also fished.

Tell me about the connection between Matsu and...and your family, because she's the goddess of fishermen.

There's a big Matsu temple on the island.

Every time the boat goes outside, we have to pray.

We, of course, believe deep.

Yeah.

Yes.

I understand.

So, are you hoping that the village is going to come back and become prosperous again?

They'll become before... like us before, to keep, like, a traditional way, to build the house like this.

This is really one of the treasures that I've discovered here in the Matsu Islands.

Xiexie.

Welcome.

Welcome.

Perfect ending to a nice walk and a lovely day in the Matsu Islands.

A rest stop on the way to Beigan, tiny, uninhabited Daqiu Island is great for socializing with the endangered Formosa sika deer and harvesting shellfish.

[Speaking Mandarin] Rosendo: The Buddha's Hand.

Wow.

Ah, look at that.

Look at that.

These are some of the specialties of the Matsu Islands.

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

[Slurping] Ah, yeah.

I think she's discovered that I like oysters, so she's... she's pointing them out.

Yeah, I'll have another one.

[Speaking Mandarin] I'm gonna go to her restaurant later.

Depopulated by the military exodus from the Matsus, Beigan is a 15-minute boat ride from Nangan and offers an even more laid-back experience.

While tourist attractions are still developing, chief among them is Qinbi Village.

In the process of recovering its former prosperity, Qinbi, called the Mediterranean of the Taiwan Straits, has the best-preserved Northern-Fujian-style buildings in all of the Matsu Islands.

Although, as part of the Matsu Islands renewal and renovation, it is fast becoming an architectural and cultural attraction in its own right.

There are only a few villages on Beigan, and they all thrive from their harvest from the sea.

Ni hao.

Ni hao.

Ah, seaweed.

Piles and piles of seaweed.

Now, the early inhabitants of the Matsu Islands were Fujian fishermen, and the sea continues to support the people of the islands.

They don't just gather mussels and other shellfish down on the seashore, they grow and harvest seaweed, used as an ingredient in many of the traditional dishes.

Xiexie.

Xiexie.

Thank you.

Oh.

Hey, everybody.

I'm in Ms. Liu's restaurant.

And some of the dishes we're having tonight, like this Buddha's Hand, will be the things that we gathered together this afternoon on the rocks.

And we're going to be trying many, many, many more.

Ms. Liu.

Xiexie.

Xiexie.

Xiexie, xiexie, xiexie, xiexie.

[Speaking Mandarin] OK. Let's eat.

While the goddess of the sea has many temples on Beigan, before joining the Matsu pilgrimage on Taiwan, I returned to Nangan to the gods' most sacred site in the Matsus.

Matsu wasn't always a deity.

Lin Moniang lived at the end of the 10th century in Fujian Province, China, where she became famous as a shaman and a granter of wishes.

According to legend, she died at the age of 28, attempting to save her brother and father from drowning.

In the Matsu Islands, they believed her body washed ashore here on Nangan Island, where they dedicated this temple to her and entombed her remains.

Some say the old parts of this tomb have been here for a thousand years.

We know for sure that they've been here since the 18th century.

Back on Taiwan Island, the nine-day Matsu pilgrimage is in full swing.

I joined the festivities in mid-celebration.

[Fireworks exploding] This is the Wanhe Temple, and there are hundreds of Matsu temples in Taiwan.

Whenever Matsu visits during the pilgrimage, she reenergizes them.

So they love to have her come.

This is quite an event, this pilgrimage, and I love the fact that everybody in Taiwan seems to be involved.

What do you think about Matsu?

She protect a lot of people.

I like to see everywhere in Taiwan at how people respect her, and it's the most important culture of the Taiwanese.

I love it.

I think it's great.

Thank you.

The procession is coming, heading to the next temple.

Those signs, they're basically saying "Peace, welcome," and then you have the different weapons of Matsu's army of people.

Each of these qualities are something that you can acquire by just having it pass you or you touching it.

There's even a pen.

Maybe I should have touched that.

It would improve my writing.

Matsu's constant companions are two former suitors, generals who became demons and then were saved by Matsu from the fires of hell and converted to Taoism.

Ears That Hear on the Wind and Thousand-Mile Eyes now serve her in the hundreds of temples dedicated to her.

The larger versions you see here you'll also see accompanying her on her 200-mile patrol of her realm.

Matsu has many supporters.

She has her soldiers, and she has her local deities.

Here's one of them right here.

Oop.

Oh, my gosh.

That'll keep you going.

Ha ha ha!

That's a blessing.

People come from all over the world to walk in the Matsu pilgrimage.

Ian is from Malaysia.

And how many times have you done this pilgrimage?

This is my second time.

Yep.

Second time?

You came all the way from Malaysia to be a part of it?

Personally, I like Taiwan's cultural richness very much.

That's why I came here for a second time, to join this kind of event.

What do you got here?

What's this?

Well, this is, uh... flags on sticks that we need to carry throughout the... On the routine, on the journey.

Yeah, flags.

I have one of those.

But I don't have as many as you do.

Well, congratulations.

9 days, huh?

90 days of walking.

200 miles.

Do your feet hurt?

It's all bandaged up.

Yeah.

Congratulations, and may Matsu bless you.

Yeah.

At every temple you visit, you can bring your flag in, they stamp it, which shows that you were here, and then you also get a blessing.

And that's one of the joys of being on the pilgrimage, whether it's for the whole 9 days and 200 miles, or whether you're just visiting like me and doing a few of the temples.

Now, you see, as you walk along and as you go to the different temples, people with, it seems like, hundreds of these.

Xiexie.

Xiexie.

It's a long journey, and sooner or later, everyone has to take a rest.

And places that are set aside for people to do just that are in shops, in temples, on street corners, and in shelters like this.

One thing that will happen when you come to the Matsu festival is you will eat well.

Ah, xiexie, xiexie.

This is the kitchen that is supplying food to the walkers.

And it's Armin?

Yes.

Is this an organization that's doing this?

Uh, no.

It's the friends and the family all come together.

How many people will you be feeding here?

Probably about 10,000.

You have noodles.

You have cabbage.

It sounds like the best restaurant in town right here.

And it's all free for the walkers.

Why do you do it?

Well, it's some kind of belief.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah.

So it's connected to Matsu?

Yes, Matsu.

What does Matsu mean to the Taiwanese people?

Like a mother for everybody in Taiwan.

Yeah, yeah.

Why do you think they walk?

Because we love this country, this land, and also, we love everybody like a family.

Have you walked yourself?

Yes.

You've done it, and now you're feeding people.

Well, xiexie.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

So, this is pork and onions, and, uh, since everybody is a volunteer here, they got me to volunteer for doing some of the shoveling.

Can you imagine?

10,000 people they feed, and these people are walking 20 miles a day, they're visiting, like, 32 temples a day, and all this food is being prepared for free.

And it looks pretty good, smells great.

[Whistles blowing and fireworks exploding] Ni hao.

Ni hao.

There are a lot of queues that you have to get into if you're gonna be part of the pilgrimage.

The pilgrimage itself is one long queue, uh, a million people participating.

There's people that are lined up on each side of the road to watch the procession go by and to watch Matsu go by.

And there are people that line up for the free food, but what is this line for that stretches for miles?

It's to be blessed by Matsu.

When her sedan comes down the street, these people will be kneeled down, and the sedan will pass over their heads, just one of the amazing cultural customs that are part of this fantastic event.

It's really something like nothing else.

[Fireworks exploding] When people consider traveling to Taiwan, they often think of the capital city of Taipei, but this is also Taiwan, a rice field surrounded by a neighborhood with a Taoist temple in the middle of it all.

It's a good metaphor for religion in Taiwan, the spiritual in the background grounded in the secular realities of life.

It's what makes celebrating a religious event here so exciting.

[Gong ringing] That was Po Baiya.

You know, there are so many characters and deities that are part of the pilgrimage.

You have the Happy Buddha, the Drunken Buddha, the Baby Buddhas, and Po Baiya is the announcer, and way back when, before GPS and apps which showed you where Matsu was, he would go to the villages and tell the villagers, "Matsu is on its way."

[Cheering] [Woman speaking indistinctly] Well, we caught up to Po Baiya, the announcer, here at Matsu's home, so that means Matsu will be coming.

[Fireworks exploding] I haven't seen so many people moving in the same direction together since the L.A. marathon, but the difference between that and this is that the marathon is about individual achievement, and this is about community, which says a lot about Taiwan.

Ah, I got my blessing at the most important temple in Taiwan.

Burning of incense is very important in Taiwanese spiritual practice.

And this is a package of incense ash from Matsu's temple.

What people do is they take this ash, and they mix it with hot water, and they put it on their body, cleansing themselves from any other illnesses that they might have.

Some of the older people actually take this and mix it with hot water and drink it for their health.

So Matsu is inside, outside.

Matsu is pretty much everywhere in Taiwan.

Here's Matsu.

Thank you for joining me on my Taiwan Matsu Islands adventure.

Blessed with supernatural powers, Matsu, Taiwan's superstar deity, teaches that we must create a balance in our lives.

That lesson is illustrated in the Matsu pilgrimage.

Since the first Fujian fishermen came to the islands in the 14th century in search of shelter, these islands have been a refuge.

For centuries, the islanders have weathered natural and political storms through their connections with each other and the sea.

Today, after decades of living in the shadow of war, they are ready to celebrate their historic, cultural, and natural treasures.

Matsu, the goddess of the sea that surrounds them and a living presence in their life, will be there to support them along the way.

Until next time, this is Joseph Rosendo, reminding you of the words of Mark Twain-- "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

Happy traveling.

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Rosendo: Now that we've explored Taiwan's Matsu Islands, learn more at Travelscope.net, where you can follow my worldwide adventures through my magazine, blog, podcast, and on social media.

Stay in touch.

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Oh, my gosh.

It's a kind of pain that really feels good, right?

Yeah, right.

Whoa!

All this money going up in smoke, all for Matsu.

[Fireworks exploding] I'm holding an explosive in my hand.

This is quite a festival, quite a festival.

Even the dogs get into it here in Taiwan.

They all love Matsu.

Xiexie.