Authorities suspend in-person tomb sweeping
Employees of Fushouyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District lay flowers on behalf of relatives of the deceased.
Shanghai called a halt to on-the-spot tomb sweeping at all cemeteries in the city through April 5, local civil affairs authorities announced on Monday afternoon.
This year's Qingming Festival, a traditional time for Chinese people to pay respects to their ancestors, falls on April 5, but sweeping season began days ago.
During last year's Qingming tomb-sweeping peak season, 3.43 million people visited Shanghai's 54 cemeteries and columbariums.
Residents can either pay respects online or ask cemetery staff to sweep tombs on their behalf, the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said.
For people who need to inter urns of their deceased relatives, the number of attendees per household is limited to 10 in non-lockdown areas.
A negative nucleic acid test report taken within 48 hours prior to entry, a green health QR code and green travel history code are required.
Measures will be adjusted based on the COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control situation, the bureau said.
A CCTV anchor talks about spiritual comfort in an online forum.
Meanwhile, an online forum to raise awareness of life education was held in Beijing and Shanghai on Sunday.
Experts and scholars from both cities in medical science, sociology, ethics and life and death education fields, as well as medical workers, shared their insights into topics like departure, life, creative art education and therapy, music mourning and hospice care in an online forum co-hosted by Peking University's School of Health Humanities and Shanghai-based Fu Shou Yuan International Group, a funeral and interment service provider and cemetery operator.
At the forum, Peng Yongwen, a professor at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, said poetry therapy combining performance art and Tai chi provides healing power for people who have lost loved ones.
The fourth installment of the online forum was viewed by nearly 40,000 people.
