People commemorate ancestors across China on Qingming Festival

People walk through tombstones during Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, at a cemetery in Shanghai, China, 4 April 2013.

China has been celebrating Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, which falls on April 4 this year, with millions of people across the country visiting the graves of their ancestors and commemorating the dead. Tomb Sweeping Day, which began around 2,500 years ago, consists of placing a white rooster on the grave. The ceremony was attributed to the Tang emperor Xuanzong in 732BC, who said too many wealthy people were holding extravogent ceremonies for their ancestors. He said respects could only formally be paid at their deceased family members graves on Qingming, the first day of the fifth solar term. Last year, 520 million people visited their ancestors tombs during the festival.

 

scroll to top