19th Macao A-Ma Cultural and Tourism Festival Runs October 12–15 with Over 1,000 Guests, Rituals and Parades
MACAO — The 19th Macao A-Ma Cultural and Tourism Festival runs from October 12 to 15, with October 13 marking its second day. Continuing its positioning of culture as the stage for economic and trade exchange, this year's festival welcomes more than 1,000 guests from home and abroad. The programme includes seminars, a Fujian–Macao tourism promotion session, an opening ceremony with the A-Ma ritual, a large themed gala evening and a procession of the A-Ma statue for blessings. The organising committee announced the arrangements at a press conference in Macao on September 14, reported by China News Service the same day.
During the festival, the Fujian Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism has brought three provincial troupes — the Fujian Song and Dance Theatre, the Fujian Symphony Orchestra and the Fujian Acrobatic Troupe — to perform a themed showcase blending dance, orchestral music and acrobatics rooted in A-Ma culture and Fujian traditions. The Fujian Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology is presenting fine craft works, with live demonstrations and interactive sessions on intangible heritage techniques and a platform for matching makers with buyers, promoting cultural tourism and craft exchanges between Fujian and Macao.
A-Ma beliefs run deep in Macao. The Macao A-Ma faith tradition is inscribed on the national list of intangible cultural heritage, and the A-Ma Temple forms part of the Historic Centre of Macao; each year around the goddess's birthday, residents traditionally stage Cantonese opera and rituals in the square before the temple, one of the city's major folk events. Since its founding, the A-Ma Cultural and Tourism Festival has become one of the representative cultural tourism events of Macao's autumn season.
The organising committee said it hopes the four days of activities will spread the spirit of mutual help associated with A-Ma culture and make use of Macao's role as a platform for cultural exchange, drawing more visitors during the festival period into community districts and the historic centre's folk traditions. The festival complements other events in the same period and adds to Macao's cultural tourism calendar after the Golden Week. Details are available from the organising committee and the Tourism Office.
Sources: Compiled from the 19th A-Ma Cultural and Tourism Festival organising committee's announcement and China News Service reporting of September 14, 2026.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 妈阁庙，Richard Mortel 摄，CC BY 2.0（Wikimedia Commons）
