Digital technology is enabling people across China to pay tribute to deceased loved ones remotely during Qingming Festival, with online memorial services and digital cemeteries gaining popularity as convenient alternatives to in-person traditional tomb-sweeping.
During Qingming Festival this year, many funeral service institutions across the country have rolled out dedicated online tomb-sweeping services. For mourners who live outside their hometowns or have limited mobility, staff and volunteers conduct on-site grave visits on their behalf and share the memorial process through recorded videos or video calls, allowing people to convey their grief and longing for the deceased from afar.
In Zhangjiakou City, north China's Hebei Province, such digital services have been widely adopted to break down geographic and physical barriers for memorial activities.
"We present flowers, record a video clip, and convey the mourners' remembrance for their loved ones. We hope this digital approach can free the act of remembrance and tribute from the constraints of time and location," said Tu Ye, director of the Information Center at Zhangjiakou People's Cemetery.
Beyond enabling remote tomb-sweeping, digital technology is also playing a pivotal role in advancing sustainable burial concepts across the country, with digital cemetery platforms emerging as a key bridge between modern memorial practices and land-saving interment models.
In Guangrao County, east China's Shandong Province, local authorities have built a "digital cemetery" electronic map embedded with precise positioning data for every burial plot. Through a mobile platform, mourners can not only locate the exact grave site with a single tap, but also upload photos, biographies and other mementos of the deceased to hold virtual memorial ceremonies. The growing popularity of this cloud-based remembrance platform has driven a marked increase in the number of local residents choosing land-saving burial options.
Local residents have hailed the digital cemetery for its convenience, especially for young people working and living outside their hometowns.
"With this digital cemetery, I can find the exact location with just a tap on my phone. For young people who can't return home from other cities, holding a memorial service through this mobile platform also brings us a sense of comfort," said Zhao Shuqiang, a villager from Zhaozhuang Village, Lique Town of Guangrao County.
Local authorities noted that the integrated online and offline model has not only optimized memorial services for residents, but also delivered remarkable results in land conservation.
"We have developed a WeChat mini-program online, through which family members can locate cemetery plots and hold virtual memorial services. We have set up monuments offline to provide a fixed venue for civilized tomb-sweeping activities. The burial model combining grave-free interment with digital cemetery services has saved more than 200 mu (about 13 hectares) of land to date," said Chen Yupeng, director of the digital cemetery project at Guangrao County Civil Affairs Bureau.
Digital platforms help families honor ancestors across distances during Qingming Festival
