One million tomb sweepers this weekend
(eastday.com)
Updated: 2005-03-29 09:52

The number of people who sweep the tombs of their ancestors at the city's 40 cemeteries may exceed 1 million per day this weekend and next Tuesday - Qingming Festival day, the Funeral Management Division under the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said yesterday.

This sunday is expected to be the peak day for tomb sweeping, the division said.
About 1.17 million people made their annual family pilgrimage last weekend, accounting for 18 percent of the estimated total. Some 58,000 vehicles were used to transport people to and from the graveyards.

Nine major cemeteries began charging half price for their buses to people going in the afternoon, a plan to avoid a morning rush.

"The discount is proving to be helpful to relieve the traffic burden during the rush hours as well as ensuring safety in the graveyards," said Lu Chunling, the division director.

In the past few people would go in the afternoon to sweep tombs, fearing an arrival later than noon was inauspicious.

Lu said people who had booked to visit during the afternoons of the coming busiest days accounted for about 33 percent of all those registered.

Meanwhile, another 1 million people will travel to nearby Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces for tomb sweeping rituals with Suzhou and Wuxi in Jiangsu being the most common destinations, the division added.

Qingming festival, or Clear and Brightness Day, is a traditional holiday when people visit their family graves. People believe the spirits of their deceased ancestors will look after the family. People bring offerings of food and spirit money to keep their deceased loved ones happy and ensure the family is prosperous.

The city's land resources for graves could disappear within five or six years, Lu said.

Last year, 160,000 people chose an indoor burial, while 10,000 people were buried at sea.

About 100,000 people die in the city every year, Lu said.