Cemetery reading pavilion gives voice to mourning
The reading pavilion at Fu Shou Yuan Cemetery.
A man reads at the pavilion on Saturday.
Wearing a headset and following the beat of soft music, Shanghai resident Sun Qi read out a poem for her deceased family members at a newly launched reading pavilion inside Fu Shou Yuan Cemetery in Qingpu District.
The tomb has introduced new ways of memorial before this year's dongzhi, or Winter Solstice. Among them is a reading pavilion, which is about the size of a telephone booth, for people mourning their dead, beloved ones.
Dongzhi, like Qingming Festival, is a time when Chinese people pay their respects to their ancestors. It falls on December 21 this year, while the tomb-sweeping period has started early December.
"I hope there is someone like you who is as brilliant as the dawn on a hill," Sun read affectionately.
The reading pavilion covering about 2.5 square meters has been equipped with electronic screen, headset, chair, air-conditioning and microphone. It can accommodate two people.
"It is a fresh and unique experience for people to pay tribute to their family members," said Sun.
Tomb sweepers are able to read out a home letter, some memorial words or family precepts at the space with a recording and broadcasting system.
The reading record will be uploaded to the online memorial platform of the tomb and kept at its online memorial hall.
The system has also collected a large number of beautiful poems and articles for people who want to make a reading.
"We hope to provide another way of expression for tomb sweepers and convey the message and emotional power of voice," said a tomb staffer Li Lin.
The reading pavilion.
