Full coverage: Chinese Qingming Festival

Today is the traditional Chinese Qingming Festival, or the Tomb Sweeping Day. It is a time for people to honor their ancestors and deceased relatives, and also an occasion for outings.

The Qingming Festival, dating back to more than 2,500 years ago, usually falls on April 4th or 5th. On this day, people commemorate and pay their respects to ancestors by cleaning tombs, removing weeds, and adding fresh soil to graves. Spring outings, kite flying and placing willow branches on gates have also become an important part of the festival.

Today marks the last day of the three-day holiday. The Ministry of Civil Affairs predicts that the number of tombs swept will remain high. According to statistics from 150 observation posts across China, a total of over 4 million people have participated in tomb sweeping.