The Maxian belief custom, popular in Zherong county of Ningde, Fujian province, is listed as a folk custom in the fourth batch of the National Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage items.

The earliest written records of Celestial Immortal Ma date back to the first year of Jingde in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). At that time, Zherong suffered a severe drought, and the people prayed for rain by kowtowing to heaven. Believers in Zherong set up an altar on Xianyu Summit in the west of the county, and walked over 200 li (100 kilometers) to Lusi Ridge in Jingning, Zhejiang province to welcome Celestial Immortal Ma. After her arrival, Celestial Immortal Ma showed her divine power on the top of Dongshi Mountain. Before long, timely rain fell to moisten the seedlings, and a bountiful harvest was achieved that year.

Originating in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Maxian belief reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), further developed in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and declined during the Republic of China. Since China's reform and opening up efforts began, believers have built many new Maxian temples in various places. The nearly 20-day ritual of welcoming and seeing off Maxian, held in the seventh lunar month every year, is the largest and most influential folk ritual in eastern Fujian and even southern Zhejiang.

This ritual showcases the integration of diverse cultures such as "filial piety culture", "community culture" and "lantern culture" through artistic forms including Taoist rituals, folk music, opera and dance, traditional martial arts, folk Quyi, and folk lantern shows.