Many Taiwan residents have traveled to the Chinese mainland during the Qingming Festival to pay tribute to their ancestors and trace their family roots, underscoring shared cultural traditions across the Taiwan Strait.
The Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, falls on April 5 this year. It is a traditional Chinese festival for people to pay tribute to the deceased and worship their ancestors.
During the festival, an ancestral worship ceremony for Taiwan's Lin clan was held on Meizhou Island in east China's Fujian Province, where participants returned to trace their roots.
The Lin clan is widely established in both Fujian and Taiwan, reflecting deep family ties across the Taiwan Strait.
"About 80 percent of the people in our village share the surname Lin. We are descendants of [sea goddess] Mazu," said Lin Jui-chuan, a Taiwan resident.
Lin Meng-jung, another resident from Taiwan, was moved to tears and said she told her ancestors their descendants had come back to visit them.
"I said the following words at the ceremony: your descendants have come to see you. We've come home to visit you. I was so moved that I found it hard to calm down my emotions," she said.
Beyond kinship ties, some Taiwan residents also made the trip to the mainland out of devotion to Mazu, a Chinese sea goddess widely regarded as an important spiritual link connecting people across the Taiwan Strait.
"Mazu is like our family. She protects us at home. We have a Mazu statue since my childhood," said Hsu Tse-nan, a Taiwan resident.
Taiwan residents return to Chinese mainland for shared rituals during Qingming Festival
Chinese President Xi Jinping awarded Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic the Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China in Beijing on Monday.
As solemn music played and the golden doors slowly opened, Xi and Vucic entered the hall together, followed by Xi's wife Peng Liyuan and Vucic's wife Tamara Vucic.
Applauding guests rose to their feet, and paid respect to the two heads of state.
A Guard of Honor escorted the Friendship Medal into the hall, and amid solemn music, Xi formally presented the medal to Vucic.
Xi highlighted Vucic's long-standing commitment to advancing China-Serbia friendship and underscored the significance of the honor.
"President Vucic has long stayed committed to China-Serbia friendship, and he has always given China the firmest and clearest support on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns. He gains the respect from the Chinese people. This medal is not only a high recognition of President Vucic's contributions to bilateral friendship, but also carries the earnest expectations of both peoples for building a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era," Xi said.
The Friendship Medal is China's highest state honor for foreigners, reserved for those who have made outstanding contributions to China's modernization drive, promoting exchange and cooperation between China and the world, and safeguarding world peace.
At the invitation of Xi, Vucic is on a state visit to China from Sunday to Thursday, with this marking his first state visit to China and his ninth trip to the country overall.
Xi awards Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic China's friendship medal
