Reservation system for Qingming Festival a success
Relatives pay their respects to the deceased at Fengjing Cemetery in Jinshan District on Saturday.
Fushouyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District on Saturday
A total of 176,700 people visited 54 cemeteries and columbaria across the city on Saturday, the Qingming Festival, Shanghai's civil affairs authorities have said.
Among them, about 161,300 people visited with reservations made on an online booking system introduced to prevent crowds amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.
The number of visitors was sharply down on last year's Qingming Festival when Shanghai's cemeteries and columbaria received 2.19 million visitors, resulting in severe traffic congestion in the city.
Qingming is when Chinese people sweep family tombs and pay their respects to their ancestors.
There were an extra 44,800 vehicles on the roads on Saturday while 1,758 urns were interred, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
Online tomb-sweeping platforms have been opened by cemeteries via their websites or WeChat accounts, enabling residents to pay tribute to their deceased relatives online.
Cemetery staff can also sweep tombs for families if requested, following procedures such as cleaning graves, bowing and laying flowers. Live broadcast and photographs can be provided.
On Saturday, 5,882 requests were met, according to the bureau.
The city's cemeteries and columbaria began taking reservations on their WeChat accounts starting on March 26, with four two-hour time slots available at each location every day between March 28 and April 12.
"Authorities' call to visit tombs when the epidemic ends has been actively echoed by residents, and those who came to the scene strictly follow their reserved time," said Huang Yifei, director of the funeral and interment department of the bureau. "No gathering or traffic congestion has been witnessed on Saturday, and tomb-sweeping across the city is in good order."
Burning items such as tinfoil and setting off firecrackers is banned.
The Binhai Guyuan Cemetery in Fengxian District had 20,000 slots reserved for Saturday, compared with more than 90,000 tomb-sweepers it received at last year's Qingming Festival.
"It is the first time that for years there has been no queue at the tomb on Qingming Festival," said Xu Keye, deputy general manager of the cemetery. "Residents have shown understanding as almost all people who visit the scene today have made a reservation."
Many people chose "cloud tomb-sweeping" or requested tomb staff to pay tribute as replacement, said Xu.
The cemetery has met more than 4,700 such demands so far. Staff cleaned tombs, laid flowers and bowed three times, following tradition, said Xu.
"Usually, the tomb was packed with sweepers on Qingming, this year is different," said a local resident surnamed Qu. "I can stay alone quietly for 30 minutes, which is rare."
The Fushouyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District hosted an online broadcast of a commemorative event on Saturday.
"We are here to remember those who perished in the COVID-19 pandemic," said 83-year-old Xia Keqiang, a descendant of a New Fourth Army martyr who read the funeral oration.
"It is a tradition to bid farewell to our deceased fellows on Qingming Festival with a group memorial ceremony attended by 1,000, while this year, we use an online platform to convey our deepest feelings to them, which breaks the barrier of space and time," a message by members of the Shanghai Cancer Recovery Club reads.
The Fengjing Cemetery in Jinshan District said the number of tomb-sweepers it receives during the whole Qingming Festival period is estimated to drop 85 percent from the same period last year.
Between March 28 and Saturday, 54 cemeteries and columbaria across Shanghai provided 763,700 slots for tomb-sweepers, and 604,500 slots were reserved, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
A total of 595,000 people visited, bringing an extra 136,700 vehicles onto streets, and 3,405 urns were interred during the period.
Cemeteries and columbaria in Shanghai have received 1.12 million online visits so far, and they provided tomb-sweeping services based on 29,000 requests, according to the Bureau.
A mourner at Fengjing Cemetery in Jinshan District on Saturday.
Fushouyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District on Saturday
