Finding the inner peace

For Xu Ran, 31, an office worker from Shanghai, Tomb Sweeping Day holidays are opportunities for a family reunion in her Anhui province hometown.

"Hiking on a spring day is also a tradition of the festival. We climb a hill covered with green bamboos to pay tribute to the tombs. After that, we dig edible wild herbs and tender bamboo shoots, both of which make delicious seasonal dishes," she says.

Chen Xiao, 31, from Beijing, couldn't agree more. For her, it's like an excursion for the big family as tombs are always on mountains.

"It's an important festival as it's connected with the deceased relatives. I ponder over sincere questions like the significance of life when I visit the tombs of my grandparents," Chen says.

"My parents talk loudly with the deceased and ask them to 'eat' the offerings — things that they liked when they were alive. It is a moment when I feel touched and try my best not to shed tears."

For over two decades, Wang Haopeng, 47, pays homage at graves of his grandparents at important festivals such as Lunar New Year's Eve and Tomb Sweeping Day.

"For me, it's more like a cultural inheritance and passing on of traditional filial piety. Since my son turned three, I have started taking him to the memorial ceremonies," says Wang, a photographer from Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

He believes the core values of traditional Chinese festivals are benevolence, harmony and filial piety, which symbolize the essence of Confucianism. For example, it is the custom to celebrate traditional festivals with families and this he says is a kind of harmony.

"It's important to be dutiful sons and daughters. Some Chinese couples care about their children more than their parents, whereas it is the latter that need more attention. It will be pitiful when you want to fulfill your duty but your parents have already passed away," he says.