Ching Ming Festival is one of the five most important Chinese holidays on the Lunar Calendar. Usually, there is a mass exodus from Hong Kong to China as hundreds of thousands of people pass through the border crossings between Hong Kong with Shenzhen.
Grave Sweeping Ceremony
Ching Ming, sometimes referred to as the Grave Sweeping Festival or All Souls Day in English, is one of the five most important holidays in Chinese culture.
It is called the Grave Sweeping Festival because families pay visits to the gravesites of their ancestors to make offerings and have picnics.
According to the pinyin romanization system, ching ming is spelled qing ming. That is because the “ch” sound is represented by a “q” in pinyin.
I prefer ching ming to qing ming because it’s easier on the eye for English speaking readers. It also more accurately reflects the way the term should be pronounced for those that have not studied Chinese.
Unlike other Chinese holidays, whose dates are calculated according to the Lunar Calendar, Ching Ming falls on the 15th day from the Spring Equinox, which means either 4, 5, or 6 April.
In Taiwan, it is always celebrated on 5 April because Chiang Kai-shek – who headed the Chinese Nationalist Party and served as President of the Republic of China – died on that date in 1975.
On this day, Chinese people visit the grave sites of their ancestors, tidying them up, making offerings, having a picnic, and setting off firecrackers. The tradition dates back more than 2,500 years.
Ching Ming has been a statutory public holiday in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan all along.
After being discouraged in China following the Communist Revolution in 1949, it was revived as a public holiday in 2008. It is celebrated by Chinese communities throughout Southeast Asia. Japan, Korea, and Vietnam also have similar customs.
Ching Ming Festival Travel Advisory
The Hong Kong Immigration Department recommends crossing the border during the late morning or early afternoon.
Having crossed the border a couple of times during holiday periods, I would advise against all non essential travel!
Fortunately, things are much better now than they once were thanks to Hong Kong’s wonderful smart cards, which have considerably streamlined the process
Copyright: Michael Taylor Pictured: Lowu Border Crossing (Chinese side) in Shenzhen, China Photo Credit: Thisivor (via Wikipedia Commons)