How we mark Ghost Festival in Jiangsu

Zhongyuan festival (or Ghost Festival, as it is known in English) is one of the most important Taoist festivals in China. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which this year falls on August 28.

It is tradition to leave food and burn incense at shrines as an offering to the spirits of deceased loved ones. Legend has it that ancestors will return home on the day, allowing for a moment of family reunion and remembrance. Exact customs of the festival vary throughout Asia, but Jiangsu locals have their own special ways in which to celebrate the day.

Typical customs in the province include burning paper money and ingots made of tinfoil and floating lanterns onto river. Locals in Suzhou have a custom of burning such ingots along the way. People in Yizheng of Yangzhou usually burn some paper ghosts with images of gamblers or drunkards to keep the "evil spirits" away, while in Yixing, Wuxi, locals will sail four different boats on the river, each carrying tributes to ghosts.

For Nanjing locals, it is customary to eat Bianshi, a dustpan-shaped treat made of flour and sugar. It is also common to watch baiju opera, a local opera containing tunes from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1644-1911) and Jiangnan folk tunes in Nanjing dialect. Some locals also make eggplant pies and set lanterns on the river at night.