Qingming Festival activities cut back under tightened pandemic measures
Shanghai authorities have further tightened up COVID-19 pandemic prevention measures for the upcoming Qingming Festival, with sea burial services postponed and the number of attendees for urn interring limited.
Sea burials are only hosted in certain seasons in the city due to weather, and March is traditionally an ideal time, but the services have been delayed amid the current surge of COVID-19 cases, Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said.
Disinfection at funeral parlors and tombs has been further beefed up, and the number of attendees for urn interring per household has been limited to 10 at a time.
This year's Qingming Festival, or tomb-sweeping day, a traditional time for Chinese people to pay respects to their ancestors, falls on April 5.
During last year's Qingming peak season, Shanghai's 54 cemeteries and columbariums were visited by 3.43 million people.
Civil affairs authorities in the Yangtze River Delta region have made a joint call on residents to prevent transprovincial movement for tomb sweeping to stem the potential hazards of virus spread.
Fushouyuan Cemetery staff member lay flowers in honor of past members of Shanghai Cancer Recovery Club during an online group commemoration ceremony.
On Thursday, a special group burial ceremony was held for deceased members of Shanghai Cancer Recovery Club. There were no attendees, however club members could bid farewell online through a live broadcast.
The departed members had chosen eco-friendly burials, and were interred in a fan-shaped flowerbed at Fushouyuan Cemetery.
There is a 2,000-square-meter forest in the cemetery where more than 100 deceased members of the club have been buried.
It has been a tradition since 2005 for members to host a group burial event for deceased friends before the Qingming Festival.
"Limiting mobility is the duty of all residents during this special period," said Yuan Zhengping, director of the club. "We will launch a commemorative video on Qingming to remember perished friends over the past decade and pay tribute to them online."
This year, the funeral is themed "embracing love," with solemn music played and the lives of deceased members recalled. Their optimistic spirit in fighting against cancer was remembered.
Staff of the cemetery laid flowers to pay respect and expressed wishes on behalf of members who could not visit.
