The statue, carved from a whole Brazilian Bubinga, is 3.23 meters tall with a weight of 4 tons, the largest of its kind in the world. Mazu is named after a woman in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) who forecast the weather at sea and was later deified as a goddess of the sea. Mazu belief has been prevalent in Fujian and Taiwan for hundreds of years. [Photo/Xinhua]