Niangniang Palace has an important significance in the cultural life of Tianjin people. In the past, almost all Tianjin people would make a pilgrimage to worship the Niangniang when they were newly married, confusing A-Ma with the Niangniang, hoping that the Niangniang would bless an early birth, and begging for a clay doll to be their child. If no child is born in a year, the clay doll will be taken to the Niangniang Palace for a "bath", i.e., a bigger clay doll, so that the clay doll will "grow" a year older. If a child is born, will honor the mud doll as "big brother", their line two. Therefore, the Tianjin people used to call each other "two masters", not called "master", because the master is usually a mud doll big brother. (And Beijingers have different customs, Beijingers think "two masters" are stewards or concierge, each other are honored as "master").
Next to the statue of Tin Hau, there is a small statue called Wang San Granny, which is said to be the maid who delivers children to Tin Hau. It is a soft-bodied statue, and those who are seeking an heir have to touch the statue's hand, which is said to have a miraculous effect. Since there are many people touching it every day, it cannot be made into a clay idol, which is made of wooden arms, wearing cloth clothing, with a lifelike head made of clay.
Tianhou was known as the goddess of escort in ancient times. Legend has it that she was a native of Putian, Fujian Province, surnamed Lin Mo, often sailing out to sea and rescuing people in distress, so she was honored as a goddess by later generations. The Yuan capital every year to transport a large amount of grain from the north, first from the sea to Tianjin, and then transferred to the river to the capital. In order to pray for the safety of navigation, the Yuan government honored the goddess of navigation as the Heavenly Princess and built the Tianhou Palace in the coastal towns. The Tianhou Palace in Tianjin was built in 1326 AD. The 23rd day of the third month of the lunar calendar is the birthday of the Empress. Every year at this time, the "Imperial Fair" was held, performing stilts, dragon lanterns, dry boats, lion dances, etc., a hundred plays gathered, very lively. Nowadays, Tianhou Palace has become the Tianjin Folk Museum, introducing the historical changes of Tianjin and displaying a variety of folk customs in kind. The Imperial Society was named after Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, who traveled to the south of the Yangtze River and visited this society. The traditional performance venues are in the square in front of the Tianhou Palace and the area around the south and north of the Palace. After the completion of the Ancient Cultural Street, every lunar March 23 (the "Queen of Heaven" birth anniversary) held a grand Imperial Society here, performing dragon lantern dance, lion dance, Shaolin Club, stilt walkers, French drums, dry boat, rice-planting songs, martial arts, as well as Peking Opera, opera, clappers and so on.