Now, sweeping tombs in the cloud
Print Edition
Typing in the names of his grandparents, Andrew Chen sees their tomb at Fushouyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District. He uploads an old photo of them smiling brightly and chooses paper cranes as a virtual commemorative item. He leaves a message and forwards the link to his sister. A “cloud tomb-sweeping” only takes a few minutes.
With the approach of the Qingming Festival, “cloud tomb-sweeping” is gaining popularity amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. The festival, when Chinese traditionally sweep family tombs and pay tribute to their ancestors, falls on April 4 this year.
“Family love is not separated nor cut by the barriers of space and time,” Chen said. “When the epidemic is over and cemeteries reopen, I will offer my tribute in person.”
Cemeteries operated by the Fu Shou Yuan Group in around 30 cities have online sweeping channels.
Over 400,000 people have visited the platforms to pay tribute. Only those with urgent demands like burials are received at cemeteries.
Online tomb-sweepers are able to edit the biographical information of their relatives, upload photos and videos, and offer virtual sacrifices.
“My dear parents, we have stayed at home for over a month, and we heed the call of the government and not visit the cemetery to prevent gatherings. We meet you via the ‘cloud’ and hope you rest in peace in heaven,” one wrote.
“Because of the novel coronavirus, we cannot be there in person. We hope you are well, dear dad and mom. I will visit you once the epidemic ends,” another message read.
Another service attempts to meet the needs of people who cannot visit cemeteries but still want to follow tradition.
Staff will sweep tombs for them and host a live broadcast as they do. Videos and photographs will be available on request.
So far, Fu Shou Yuan has acted for 1,500 households, including about 800 in Shanghai.
“It is a special Qingming Festival and we fully understand the practice which is out of health concerns,” said Pu Zhizhen, a local resident who chose the service for her dead husband.
Individual requests, like a favorite dish, are also met.
“Internet-plus services will be promoted in the long term even after the epidemic,” said Zhao Yu, assistant manager of Fu Shou Yuan.
Cemeteries also plan to introduce AI, VR, 5G and the Internet of Things to the funeral industry.
A reservation system in Shanghai during this year’s festival has been encouraged by city authorities to prevent large gatherings. Those who wish to inter urns or sweep tombs in person between March 28 and April 12 are required to make reservations, from Thursday.
Only a few visitors will be allowed and others are advised not to make unauthorized visits, said Zeng Qun, deputy director of the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
“People are advised not to visit cemeteries and columbariums until the epidemic ends,” Zeng added.
A maximum of 10 participants will be allowed at interments. Sweepers are limited to five per tomb.
Shanghai’s 54 cemeteries and columbariums received 2.2 million tomb-sweepers on last year’s Qingming Festival. Severe congestion on roads and expressways were reported.
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