6 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, April 10, 2020 CHINA DAILY Chinese living abroad receive shipments of protective equipment By YUAN SHENGGAO Despite the difficulty in logis­ We are paying close tics and transportation during the COVID­19 pandemic, the attention to the first shipment of protective situation and we equipment such as masks and gloves from Shanxi was received will make all efforts by Chinese expatriates in Japan to help our folks on March 30. The Shanxi Chamber of Com­ overseas survive merce in Japan, which is respon­ the hardship.” sible for distributing the supplies, sent a letter to the Xue Pengguo, official at Shanxi Federation of Returning the Shanxi Federation of Returning Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese to express their gratitude. The supplies were donated by businesses and individuals in Shanxi. The Shanxi Federation of 300,000 Returning Overseas Chinese and expats the Shanxi Red Cross Society from Shanxi living abroad have been responsible for deliver­ ing them to the overseas Chinese in more than 30 countries and “We have foreseen all the diffi­ Residents and officials in Datong city commemorate the people who lost their lives during the nationwide COVID­19 epidemic on April 4, regions including Japan, Italy, culties, so we planned for the Tomb Sweeping Day. WANG ZHONGXUN / FOR CHINA DAILY the United Kingdom, Germany donations and delivery at an earli­ and the United States. er stage,” the official said. The first batch of supplies left According to Xue, the supplies Shanxi on March 20. Due to the have reached all targeted recipi­ difficulty in transportation, the ents “safe and sound” in about 10 Shanxi moves to extinguish risky first recipient in Japan obtained days after they left customs in the supplies 10 days later. Shanghai. In the following days, the two “We didn’t expect the pandemic organizations in Shanxi received to develop so fast worldwide, so we confirmation letters from coun­ are paying close attention to the behavior on Tomb Sweeping Day tries including Sweden, Malaysia situation and we will make all and the UK. efforts to help our folks overseas Xue Pengguo, an official at the survive the hardship,” Xue said. Fears that people burning offerings to honor ancestors could spark forest fires amid dry climate Shanxi Federation of Returning Those who are also relieved are Overseas Chinese, said he has been the parents of overseas Chinese busy contacting overseas organi­ students knowing that their chil­ While increasing manpower to zations since early February. dren received assistance from monitor forests and grasslands, “At the beginning, we received a Shanxi and China’s other foreign local officials also advocated safer lot of supplies from overseas Chi­ missions and organizations. ways of tomb sweeping. nese, including businesspeople, “My daughter is studying in In Changzi county in the south­ students and overseas residents, to Sweden and the situation of the east of Shanxi, local authorities help fight against the COVID­19 country worried me a lot. Now called on residents to lay flowers epidemic in China,” Xue said. I’m relieved when she told me instead of burning paper sacrificial “The overseas Chinese made a that she had received supplies By YUAN SHENGGAO offerings. great contribution to China’s battle from Shanxi,” said a Shanxi resi­ Yu Bo, who has run a flower store against the epidemic. dent surnamed Yang. During Qingming Festival — or in the county for five years, said his “But now they are having a diffi­ According to Pang Le, another Tomb Sweeping Day — residents in sales increased heavily during this cult time overseas and it’s time for official at the Shanxi Federation North China’s Shanxi province were year’s Tomb Sweeping Day. us to pay them back,” said the offi­ of Returning Overseas Chinese, told by the local government to use “I began to receive orders a week cial. there are a total of 300,000 safer methods when paying tribute before the festival. Flowers like Xue said the most difficult part expats from Shanxi living over­ to their ancestors and deceased fam­ white and yellow chrysanthemums of the deliveries is the pressure on seas. ily members. are the most popular,” Yu said. transportation and customs clear­ The requirements were proposed Li Quanfu, a civil affairs official in ance. Li Yali contributed to this story. due to the high risk of fire and the Taiyuan’s Wanbailin district, sug­ novel coronavirus pandemic. gested tomb sweepers offer cold Traditional practices during food as tribute to their ancestors. Tomb Sweeping Day, which falls “People always believe it’s a tradi­ Springtime sightseeing around April 4, include clearing tion to burn incense sticks and weeds in graveyards and burning paper­made sacrificial offering dur­ incense, candles and paper sacrifi­ ing Qingming Festival,” he said. begins as virus spread cial offerings as well as setting off “However, offering cold food is an fireworks. even longer tradition, as we have The burning of things and fire­ celebrated Qingming together with brought under control works are highly risky in forests and Cold Food Festival for more than on grasslands, especially in the dry 2,500 years in China. And both festi­ weather of spring. vals are dedicated to our ancestors,” By YUAN SHENGGAO According to a domestic media Li explained. report, a forest fire in Xichang, Sich­ In Shanxi, tomb sweeping in large With the nationwide novel coro­ uan province, on March 30, killed 18 public cemeteries was affected by navirus epidemic showing signs of firefighters and a local guide. the novel coronavirus epidemic. being under control, residents in The accident rang the alarm for People are advised not to visit ceme­ Taiyuan, capital city of Shanxi governments throughout the coun­ teries in a bid to avoid crowding and province, are going out sightseeing try, including Shanxi. cross­infection. as spring flowers start to bloom. On April 4, the provincial govern­ In this circumstance, people can A popular destination is the ment of Shanxi started a weeklong ask cemetery workers to sweep Double Pagodas Temple in the campaign to prevent fires in forests tombs for them or pay homage to southeast of the city. and grasslands. the deceased on cemetery websites. “Every late April when the peo­ During the first fire­prevention “The workers can visit the graves, ny flowers blossom, the Buddhist weeklong event in Shanxi, officials clear the weeds around the tombs, temple is a must­see place for me,” in various regions spread fire pre­ present flowers, fruits and food and said Bai Jie, a local resident. vention advice among residents via deliver memorial speeches for peo­ He added he will visit the site TV broadcasts and mobile phone ple who apply for the service,” said several times in April to take pho­ text messages. Yang Yong, a manager at the Yong’an tos of peony flowers. Blossoming peony flowers The province’s law enforcement Cemetery in Taiyuan. Although China does not have make the Double Pagodas institutions have also dispatched “All the rituals of tomb sweeping an official national flower, peonies Temple a popular attraction in task forces to patrol near grave­ will be recorded by video cameras are a national favorite. The flower Taiyuan. JI MEIJUN / FOR CHINA DAILY yards, to prevent risky practices. and sent to the clients,” Yang said. received the most votes in a survey In Qinyuan, a county boasting the He added that more than 200 clients conducted in 1994 asking people highest forest coverage in Shanxi ordered the service. to select a national flower — a high the Peak of Culture Pagoda, which province, the government made the “To mark their great contribu­ honor for the peony in a country was built under the sponsorship of highest level of fire response. Top: A Taiyuan cemetery worker lays flowers in front of graves tions during the COVID­19 out­ where people are especially fond Fu Lin, a local scholar and official The county has established a according to the request of clients. KOU NING / FOR CHINA DAILY break, we offer free tomb sweeping of flowers. during the early Qing Dynasty. smart fire monitoring and early Above: Forestry workers patrol forests in Qinyuan county to prevent services to medical workers in The most renowned variety of It is said the construction of the warning system, using helicopters the risk of fire. MA LI MING / FOR CHINA DAILY Shanxi,” Yang said. peony at the Double Pagodas Tem­ Peak of Culture Pagoda was aimed and drones on 24­hour patrol and 48 Wang Chong, a folk culture ple is called the “purple cloud to lift Taiyuan’s status as a cultural infrared cameras on watch towers. researcher in Shanxi, noted that fairy”, which is said to have a histo­ city and improve the “cultural for­ During Tomb Sweeping Day, the Tomb Sweeping Day is an important ry of more than 300 years. tune” of the sponsor’s family. county also mobilized firefighting In Yangqu, another county with highest point of an area and can occasion for Chinese people. Purple cloud fairy peony flowers Coincidentally, several decades officers, officials and forestry work­ high forestry coverage, there are take pictures of locations within a “It is a common practice in China are mostly located in front of the after the construction, Fu’s grand­ ers to carry out various fire­preven­ manned checkpoints on the roads to radius of 5­20 kilometers during the for people to travel thousands of main hall of the temple. son Fu Shan became one of the tion tasks. forest areas. Their duty is to ban kin­ daytime,” Lu said. kilometers to pay tribute to their The temple has more than 30 country’s top scholars, poets, cal­ A fleet of 800 vehicles patrolled dling and inflammable materials “During the nighttime, the camer­ ancestors during the festival,” Wang other varieties of flowers.