Spring outings boom during Qingming holiday in China

During the Qingming Festival, people across China are heading outdoors to enjoy the spring weather, explore scenic spots, and participate in various cultural and outdoor activities.

The Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, which falls on April 5 this year, is a traditional Chinese festival for people to pay tribute to the diseased and worship their ancestors. The holiday coincides with the peak of spring, inspiring many to step outside and embrace the season's freshness and vitality.

At Jinsha Lake in Funing County, Yancheng City, east China's Jiangsu Province, more than 300 kite enthusiasts gathered to launch colorful kites into the sky. The blue sky soon transformed into a vibrant sea of kites, drawing both local residents and tourists to pause and watch.

The event also featured an intangible cultural heritage exhibition, a parent-child kite design area, and specialty markets, allowing visitors to enjoy local delicacies and shop for unique items while taking in the scenery.

"The environment at Jinsha Lake is excellent. Here, we can not only admire top-quality kites from across the country, but also enjoy spring outings," said a tourist Xiang Limei.

During the Qingming holiday, visitors flocked to the Mianyang Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Mianyang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Parents brought their children to watch pandas climb trees and play up close, with the animals' adorable antics winning widespread attention.

At the same time, it is the migratory bird season, with tens of thousands of seagulls gathering in the coastal wetlands of Beidaihe District in Qinhuangdao City, north China's Hebei Province. Visitors strolled along the shoreline, fed the birds, and took photos, enjoying close interaction with the wildlife.

"The sight of thousands of birds flying together is truly breathtaking. We came here to relax, enjoy the scenery, and take some photos. The views are beautiful," said another tourist Li Yingxue.

In Nanling County, Wuhu City, east China's Anhui Province, students guided by their teachers walked along trails in the vast bamboo forest, carefully learning to identify various native bamboo species.

Meanwhile, at a rural complex in Wuhu, children dug soil, planted rice seedlings, and watered crops, experiencing the rhythms of nature firsthand and gaining a sense of accomplishment through hands-on labor.

Spring outings boom during Qingming holiday in China

A quake-damaged primary school in Maru Township, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, has set up more than 30 tents on the playground to serve as temporary shelters for the teaching staff and their families.

The 7.0-magnitude quake struck Baqen County of Nagqu City at 22:33 Beijing time (1433 GMT) on Thursday.

Maru Township was among the areas hit hardest by the quake. The township's only primary school, Maru Township Primary School, was damaged heavily.

Two teaching buildings showed varying degrees of destruction, including visible wall cracks, shattered windows, and some structural collapses. The dormitories for the teaching staff and the students were also affected. Fortunately, all the students and teachers were safely evacuated.

Many of the students were sleeping in their dormitories when the quake occurred. Following the earthquake, the teachers immediately evacuated the students to safety.

"We went to the dormitories right away. Some students were still sleeping, so we woke them up and got them out," a teacher said.

While some teachers were injured in the quake, no students were hurt.

The school's sports field has now been converted into a centralized shelter, where over 30 thick, cotton tents have been set up for the teaching staff, their families, and logistics workers.

Supplies inside the tents are plentiful, including thick quilts, food, snacks, and local specialty tea. Power was restored the day after the earthquake, and logistics staff are ensuring three meals a day for everyone.

One child living in the shelter said six people share a tent, and the quilts distributed to them are quite thick.

"It feels like home because my family is here, and I have my meals here in the morning, at noon, and in the evening," the child said.

Since the winter vacation has not yet begun, the school is actively working out a plan to address the students' schooling, including online teaching or transferring students to nearby safe schools.

To cope with the winter cold, the school has applied to local authorities for prefabricated housing units, which are expected to arrive in the next two days. These units will replace the tents and serve as temporary classrooms.

Quake-damaged school in Xizang sets up tents on playground to shelter teaching staff, their families