A time to remember lost legends
Chinese culture attaches great significance to revering ancestors. Tomb Sweeping Day in early April is an important occasion in the Chinese lunar calendar for the living to cherish the memories of dead relatives.
Local authorities also organize ancestral worship ceremonies for legendary characters in history, such as the Yellow Emperor, Yan Emperor and Chi You, all tribal chiefs nearly 5,000 years ago who are regarded as the forefathers of Chinese civilization.
Such ceremonies are held at places where they were born or died, or at historically important locations, on Tomb Sweeping Day or on the anniversary of their birth or death.
Yellow Emperor Memorial Ceremony
Place: Huangling, Shaanxi province
Time: Tomb Sweeping Day
Yellow Emperor Hometown Ancestral Worship Ceremony
Place: Xinzheng, Henan province
Time: Third day of the third month on the lunar calendar
Global Confucius Ancestral Worship Ceremony
Place: Qufu, Shandong province
Time: 15th day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar
World Chinese and Overseas Chinese Yan Emperor Mausoleum Ancestral Worship Ceremony
Place: Yanling, Hunan province
Time: Ninth day of the ninth month on the lunar calendar
Hanyuan Park Spring Festival Ancestral Worship Temple Fair
Place: Kaifeng, Henan province
Time: First month on the lunar calendar
World Hakka Ancestral Worship Ceremony
Place: Ninghua, Fujian province
Time: Fifth day of the ninth month on the lunar calendar
World Chinese Yan Emperor Hometown Root-Seeking Festival
Place: Suizhou, Hubei province
Time: 26th day of the fourth month on the lunar calendar
Joint Hebei-Taiwan Ancestral Worship Ceremony for the Yellow Emperor, Yan Emperor and Chi You
Place: Zhuolu, Hebei province
Time: August or September
Cross-Straits Yan Emperor Hometown Ancestral Worship Ceremony
Place: Gaoping, Shanxi
Time: May
Hongtong Dahuaishu Dead Ghost Festival Ancestral Worship Ceremony
Place: Hongtong, Shanxi
Time: 15th day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar
Wansan Ancestor Worship and New Year Celebration Ceremony
Place: Suzhou, Jiangsu province
Time: New Year's Day
