The Qingming Festival, also known as the Spring Outing Festival, the Ancestral Worship Festival, the March Festival, and the Ancestral Remembrance Festival, falls between the middle and late spring. Originating from the early human ancestors' beliefs and spring sacrificial customs, it is the most solemn and grand ancestral worship festival of the Chinese nation. The Qingming Festival encompasses both natural and humanistic connotations. It is not only a natural solar term but also a traditional festival. The two major customs of tomb sweeping and ancestral worship and spring outings and excursions have been passed down in China since ancient times and continue to this day. 
The Qingming solar term begins when the sun reaches 15 degrees of ecliptic longitude (or when the handle of the Big Dipper points to the second star of the Big Dipper). The exact date of the Qingming solar term varies between April 4th and 6th on the Gregorian calendar and is not fixed on a specific day, but April 5th is the most common. During the Qingming solar term, vitality is abundant, all things "breathe out the old and take in the new", and the earth presents a scene of spring's harmony and clarity. It is a perfect time for outdoor spring outings and tomb-sweeping. The Qingming tomb-sweeping festival period is quite long, with two common sayings: 10 days before and 8 days after the Qingming solar term, or 10 days before and after the solar term (at the junction of mid-spring and late spring). All these days within nearly 20 days are considered within the Qingming tomb-sweeping festival period. 
The Qingming Festival is a traditional major spring festival for ancestral worship. Visiting graves and paying homage to ancestors is an excellent tradition of the Chinese nation since ancient times. It not only helps promote filial piety and family affection, but also awakens the common memory of the family. It can also enhance the cohesion and identity of family members and even the entire nation. The Qingming Festival integrates natural seasonal changes and human customs, embodying the harmony of heaven, earth and humanity. It fully reflects the ancient Chinese ancestors' pursuit of harmony between heaven, earth and humanity, and their emphasis on following the natural laws and adapting to the local conditions. 
The Qingming Festival, along with the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, is known as one of the four major traditional festivals in China. Besides China, some other countries and regions also celebrate the Qingming Festival, such as Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. On May 20, 2006, the Qingming Festival, which was declared by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. 
The origin of the festival 
Natural solar terms 
The Qingming Festival, with both natural and humanistic connotations, is not only one of the 24 solar terms but also a traditional festival for ancestral worship. The 24 solar terms are a product of ancient agricultural civilization and are closely related to the sexagenary cycle and the Eight Trigrams, having a long historical origin. The 24 solar terms not only play a guiding role in agricultural production but also influence people's clothing, food, housing, and transportation, as well as cultural concepts. In the early era of observing celestial phenomena to determine the time, the year was determined by the rotation of the Big Dipper. One complete rotation of the Big Dipper handle was called a year (Sheti). The celestial sphere was established starting from the Yin position. As recorded in "Huainanzi · Astronomy Training": "The emperor set up the four corners and moved them with the Big Dipper. The moon moved one position each month and returned to its original position. The first month pointed to Yin, and the twelfth month pointed to Chou. After one year, it returned to the beginning and started over." In traditional culture, the Yin position is the "Gen position" in the posterior Eight Trigrams, the position where the end of the year and the beginning of the new year meet, representing the end and the beginning. As stated in "Yi Jing · Explanation of the Eight Trigrams": "Gen is the northeast trigram, where all things come to an end and begin anew." Therefore, the handle of the Big Dipper starts from the "Jian Yin" month when it points to the northeast, then rotates clockwise, and repeats the cycle; at the end of the year, it points to the Chou position, and in the first month, it returns to the Yin position, ending and beginning again. As the Big Dipper rotates and its handle returns to Yin, the Qian energy begins to move, and the time returns to the beginning of spring. When the handle of the Big Dipper points to the southeast "Yi" position, it is the Qingming solar term. During the Qingming solar term, everything is clean and tidy, full of vitality, refreshing and renewing, and the temperature rises. The earth presents a scene of spring harmony and clarity, making it a perfect time for outdoor spring outings and tomb-sweeping. 
Cultural connotation 
The Qingming Festival is the most solemn and grand ancestral worship festival of the Chinese nation, a cultural and traditional festival that shows respect for ancestors and a sense of remembrance for the past. The Qingming Festival embodies the national spirit and carries forward the sacrificial culture of Chinese civilization, expressing people's moral sentiments of respecting ancestors, honoring the past, and carrying on the legacy. The Qingming Festival has a long history, originating from the early human belief in ancestors and the spring sacrifice customs. According to modern anthropological and archaeological research results, the two most primitive beliefs of human beings are the belief in heaven and earth and the belief in ancestors. Archaeological excavations have revealed that the Qingtang site in Yingde, Guangdong, contains tombs dating back 10,000 years, which are the earliest confirmed burial sites in China, indicating that ancient people had clear and conscious burial behaviors and customs 10,000 years ago. The custom of "tomb sacrifice" has a long historical origin, and the Qingming "tomb sacrifice" is a synthesis and elevation of traditional spring festival customs. The formulation of the ancient Chinese sexagenary calendar provided a prerequisite for the formation of the festival, and the belief in ancestors and sacrificial culture were important factors in the formation of the Qingming ancestral worship customs. The Qingming Festival has rich customs, which can be summarized into two major seasonal traditions: one is to show respect for ancestors and remember the past, and the other is to enjoy the spring outing and get close to nature. The Qingming Festival not only has the themes of tomb sweeping, remembrance, and mourning, but also has the themes of spring outing and enjoying oneself, vividly embodying the traditional concept of "harmony between man and nature". Tomb sweeping, also known as "tomb sacrifice", is a sign of "thoughtful respect" for ancestors. The spring and autumn sacrifices have existed since ancient times. Through historical development, the Qingming Festival in the Tang and Song dynasties integrated the customs of the Cold Food Festival and the Shangsi Festival, and combined various local customs into one, possessing extremely rich cultural connotations. 
Main Customs 
The Qingming Festival falls on April 4th or 5th in the Gregorian calendar. The Qingming ancestral worship activities usually take place within 10 days before and after the festival, and in some places, they can last for a month. The Qingming Festival is one of the eight major traditional festivals in China. As a festival, Qingming is different from a pure solar term. A solar term marks the changes in climate and the sequence of seasons, while a festival contains elements such as spiritual beliefs and customs. The belief in ancestors and the culture of ancestral worship are important factors in the formation of the Qingming Festival. The Qingming Festival is an important carrier for the inheritance of beliefs and family ethics. The Qingming ancestral worship is a cultural expression and an important way to show gratitude to ancestors and maintain close family ties. The custom of sweeping tombs and worshipping ancestors during the Qingming Festival has been passed down through the ages and has become a fixed theme of etiquette. Every year during the Qingming Festival, no matter where people are, they will return to their hometowns to participate in ancestral worship activities and pay tribute to their ancestors. 
Tomb-sweeping and ancestral worship are among the important activities during the Qingming Festival. The custom of tomb-sweeping during the Qingming Festival, also known as "tomb worship", is a way to express respect and remembrance for ancestors. This custom has a long history. According to archaeological excavations, the Qingtang site in Yingde, Guangdong Province, has unearthed tombs dating back over 10,000 years. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating indicates that these tombs are approximately 13,500 years old, belonging to the late Paleolithic period. They are the earliest confirmed burial sites in China, demonstrating that over 10,000 years ago, the ancient people in Lingnan had clear and conscious burial practices and ritual concepts. The Qingming Festival has carried rich cultural connotations in its historical development. Due to regional differences, there are variations in customs and details across the country. The Qingming ritual culture fully embodies the Chinese people's spirit of respecting ancestors and cherishing the past. In the ancestral worship ceremony, people show respect for the deceased and cherish the past; while during the spring outings, they enjoy the beauty of spring. Cultural inheritance and mental adjustment are the important functions of the Qingming ritual culture. 
Spring outing: The Chinese nation has had the custom of spring outing during the Qingming Festival since ancient times. The Qingming Festival falls between the middle and late spring, when the spring atmosphere is strong and all things are full of vitality. At this time, people visit graves and pay homage to ancestors, and go on spring outings in the countryside. This is a traditional custom that has been passed down from ancient times and continues to this day. This seasonal folk activity has a long history in China. Its origin is the ancient agricultural sacrificial custom of welcoming spring, which has had a profound influence on later generations. The Qingming Festival has both the connotations of a solar term and a festival. The Qingming solar term provides important conditions for the formation of the custom of spring outing during the Qingming Festival in terms of time and meteorological characteristics. During the Qingming Festival, the earth returns to life, and the natural world is full of vitality everywhere. It is a great time for outings. People take advantage of the opportunity and, after visiting graves, enjoy a day of fun in the countryside with their families. 
The custom of spring outings during the Qingming Festival has long been maintained among the Chinese people. The custom of spring outings has a long history. During the Qingming Festival, it is a time when the spring breeze is pleasant and the spring scenery is charming, and everything is awakening. It has long been a custom for people to go on spring outings in the countryside to welcome spring. According to the "History of the Jin Dynasty", every spring, people would go out in groups to the countryside to enjoy the spring scenery. The custom of spring outings was especially popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. According to the "Old Book of Tang", "On the day of Renwu in the second month of the second year of Dali, the emperor went to Kunming Lake for a spring outing." It can be seen that the custom of spring outings has been popular for a long time. 
Tomb-sweeping and Ancestral Worship: The custom of tomb-sweeping and ancestral worship has a long history, dating back to before the Qin Dynasty. Due to the different customs in the north and south in ancient times, tomb-sweeping in some places was not necessarily done during the Qingming Festival. Before the Tang Dynasty, tomb-sweeping in some northern regions was mainly done during the Cold Food Festival and the Ghost Festival. It was not until the Tang and Song Dynasties that tomb-sweeping during the Qingming Festival became popular throughout the country. The Tang Dynasty was a period of integration of tomb-sweeping customs from various regions, and the custom of tomb-sweeping during the Qingming Festival was inherited and spread to all parts of the country. The Qingming Festival's worship mainly honors ancestors, expressing the filial piety of the worshipper and their remembrance of the deceased. It is a cultural tradition of respecting ancestors and remembering the past. According to the different places of worship, Qingming Festival worship can be divided into tomb worship and ancestral hall worship. Tomb worship is the most common. The characteristic of Qingming Festival worship is tomb worship, and it is called tomb-sweeping mainly because of the tomb worship method. 
Tomb-sweeping and ancestral worship are at the core of the Qingming Festival customs. In some places, the act of tomb-sweeping during the Qingming Festival is called "sweeping the mountain", "paying respects to the Qing" or "paying respects to the mountain", etc. This is due to the respect for ancestors or the rhetorical habit of avoiding negative words and using positive ones instead. For instance, in the north, tomb-sweeping during the Qingming Festival is called "visiting the grave", while in the southern coastal areas, to avoid the words "grave" and "tomb", it is euphemistically referred to as "paying respects to the mountain". "Paying respects to the mountain" sounds more elegant. One of the ancient meanings of the character "mountain" is "tomb", and in modern feng shui, the orientation of a cemetery is still called "mountain orientation". The "mountains" to be paid respects to are divided into two types: one is the ancestors within three generations from one's parents, called "family mountain", and the worship of the family mountain is called "family sacrifice"; the other is the worship of the ancestors of the clan, called "ancestral mountain" or "public mountain", and the worship of the ancestral mountain is called "sweeping the public mountain". 
The Qingming Festival memorial service is held around the Qingming Festival, with variations across different regions. According to custom, people usually set out to visit the graves in the morning of the Qingming Festival. The ways or items of paying respects vary from place to place. Generally, it consists of two parts: one is to tidy up the graves, and the other is to burn paper money and offer sacrifices. When visiting the graves, people first tidy up the graves, which mainly involves removing weeds and adding fresh soil, and then bowing and paying respects. This behavior, on the one hand, expresses the filial piety and concern of the descendants for their ancestors; on the other hand, in the ancient belief, the graves of ancestors have a great influence on the prosperity and well-being of their descendants, so tending to the graves is an important part of the memorial service. The offerings are mainly food, with different varieties in different regions. They are all considered delicacies by the locals and are within the financial capacity of the memorial service payers. They are either seasonal specialties or delicious dishes.