People all around China are visiting their ancestors' graves this Friday for Qingming Festival or Tomb-Sweeping Day. Authorities hope that the new public holiday will help to protect China's folk culture and folk customs. It is also hoped that the new festival will promote a love among the people for China's traditional cultures. CRI Reporter Chen Xi has the details.

Reporter: Tomb-Sweeping Day, or Qingming Festival, is a special day for remembering the dead in China. Although the day has a long history, this Friday is the first time for Qingming Festival to be an official public holiday on the Chinese mainland.

Wang Zuoyi is a respected Chinese folklorist.

"The new public holiday reflects the government's concern for traditional culture. There are several other new public holidays in China, including Dragon-Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. These new holidays reflect our government's concern for the lives of the public."

These three festivals have been celebrated for thousands of years. Last December they were included on the new holiday schedule and the weeklong May Day vacation was shortened to one day.

The new plan is partially designed to increase the public observance of traditional cultures. Many fear that traditional festivals are fading from the public consciousness as China embraces more Western holidays, such as Valentine's Day.

Traditionally the Qing Ming Festival is observed by burning fake paper money and paper representations of other valuables to show respect for one's departed ancestors.

But Chinese forestry officials have asked people to find more eco-friendly ways to honor their ancestors in order to avoid fires and protect the environment.

To satisfy the people's "spiritual needs," some websites in China are offering online digital tombs for leaving messages to ancestors.

Fifty-year old Guo Ming and his daughter returned to China from the United States specially for this special occasion.

"In the United States, almost all overseas Chinese run across this problem. Their ancestors are buried in the Chinese mainland and they can not come back due to busy work schedules. This high tech way for observing the day is very good because we Chinese have so much respect for the traditions."

Chinese folklorists say that people should also use the festival to take a walk in the country and embrace the spring after the long winter, and they can also recite poems and fly kites on this special day to balance the grief with a love of life.

Chen Xi, CRI News