Taiwan’s Tallest Mazu Statue Emerges After 13 Years and NT$700 Million Investment

After 13 years and an investment of about NT$700 million, the Daan Harbor Mazu statue is finally beginning to show its full face. As the scaffolding comes down, residents have been taking photographs of what is set to become a new landmark along Taichung’s coast.

The statue, described as the tallest Mazu statue in Taiwan, will be formally dedicated on Oct. 3. The ceremony will also open the 2026 Taichung Ocean Tourism Season.

Taichung spent 13 years developing the Daan Harbor Mazu Cultural Park. The statue project faced repeated delays and questions over whether public resources should favor a single religion. The city’s Tourism and Travel Bureau said the municipal council recommended in 2014 that private companies raise funds to sponsor and build the statue. The park’s visitor center was completed in 2017, a foundation proposed donating the statue in 2021, and construction began after the park opened in 2024. The visitor center’s information center opened in 2025, and the statue is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2026.

Artist Ke Chien-hua designed the statue. Its appearance draws on the “Second Mazu,” a statue of Lin Mo-niang at Dajia Jenn Lann Temple. Mazu wears a crown with nine rows of hanging beads, stands on waves, holds a ruyi scepter, and faces the sea in a solemn pose intended to watch over Taichung’s coastal area.

The statue is made entirely of granite and assembled from 693 pieces of stone. It weighs 1,170 metric tons. The granite panels had reached the neck last month, and the full statue was completed this month. With the remaining scaffolding gradually removed, the statue’s face has come into view, prompting online users to describe it as dignified and benevolent.