Over a million celebrate Tomb Sweeping Festival in Gansu

The Tomb Sweeping Day, or Qingming Festival as it is known in Chinese, drew to a close on April 6. This year saw a greater number of people in Gansu choosing to participate in the festival by presenting flowers to honor the deceased, according to Xinhua.

According to statistics compiled by funeral homes and cemeteries, roughly one million people went tomb sweeping in Lanzhou, in Northwest China's Gansu province between March 20 and April 6.

A greater number of residents chose to take public transport to funeral homes and cemetery areas and tried to avoid peak hours. This resulted in better transportation conditions during the tomb sweeping period.

Instead of burning 'spirit money' – fake paper money – many residents opted to take flowers to the tomb as more environmentally friendly ways to show respect to the deceased gained popularity. A number of sanitary workers have commented that their workload has decreased in recent years as less people choose to burn paper.

Since March, an increasing number of people have visited Lanzhou's cemetery of revolutionary martyrs and museums such as the Gansu Museum of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression to honor the martyrs.

To standardize funeral and interment businesses and secure safety during the festival, the Lanzhou funeral management office has inspected and supervised 15 cemeteries during Qingming.

Edited by Jacob Hooson