Kinmen's 'Welcoming the City God' festival draws thousands in grand parade

Central News Agency (Kinmen, 28th) Today marks the annual "Welcoming the City God" festival in Kinmen. Devotees and performance troupes from across Taiwan and China braved the scorching sun to participate in a grand parade through the streets of Jincheng. The procession, involving thousands of people, stretched for several kilometers, with the sound of gongs and drums filling the air in a lively display. Today is the main day of the "Kinmen Welcoming the City God" festival, which features a large-scale parade held annually on the 12th day of the fourth lunar month. Many troupes prepared in Jincheng from the morning, and Kinmen County Magistrate Chen Fu-hai offered incense at the Wudao City God Temple before the parade began. Magistrate Chen, Kinmen County Council Speaker Hung Yun-tien, and KMT Legislator Chen Yu-chen carried the City God's palanquin to start the parade in the afternoon. More than 60 temples from Taiwan, China, and Kinmen set off from the City God Temple, filling the streets of Jincheng with flags and palanquins. Chen Chi-min, Director of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, attended the event and said, "This is my third time attending. It is not just a local religious event but a national-level important folk custom registered by the Ministry of Culture. By combining the festival with tourism, the Kinmen County government is not only helping tourism development but also preserving important folk culture." Chen noted that the Bureau of Cultural Heritage has supported preservation and inheritance plans for years, including traditional processions and the "centipede seat" carnival, ensuring the continuation of traditional arts. According to the National Cultural Heritage website, the festival dates back to 1680 during the Qing Dynasty when the military headquarters were moved to Houpu (Jincheng), and the City God was enshrined there on the 12th day of the fourth lunar month. The Kinmen County government has integrated this folk activity into a "Tourism and Culture Season," planning a series of events lasting nearly a month.