5,000 years on, the Yellow Emperor still a unifying force

A time to remember lost legends

Chinese culture attaches great significance to revering ancestors. Tomb Sweeping Day in early April is an important occasion in the Chinese lunar calendar for the living to cherish the memories of dead relatives.

Local authorities also organize ancestral worship ceremonies for legendary characters in history, such as the Yellow Emperor, Yan Emperor and Chi You, all tribal chiefs nearly 5,000 years ago who are regarded as the forefathers of Chinese civilization.

Such ceremonies are held at places where they were born or died, or at historically important locations, on Tomb Sweeping Day or on the anniversary of their birth or death.

Yellow Emperor Memorial Ceremony

Place: Huangling, Shaanxi province

Time: Tomb Sweeping Day

Yellow Emperor Hometown Ancestral Worship Ceremony

Place: Xinzheng, Henan province

Time: Third day of the third month on the lunar calendar

Global Confucius Ancestral Worship Ceremony

Place: Qufu, Shandong province

Time: 15th day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar

World Chinese and Overseas Chinese Yan Emperor Mausoleum Ancestral Worship Ceremony

Place: Yanling, Hunan province

Time: Ninth day of the ninth month on the lunar calendar

Hanyuan Park Spring Festival Ancestral Worship Temple Fair

Place: Kaifeng, Henan province

Time: First month on the lunar calendar

World Hakka Ancestral Worship Ceremony

Place: Ninghua, Fujian province

Time: Fifth day of the ninth month on the lunar calendar

World Chinese Yan Emperor Hometown Root-Seeking Festival

Place: Suizhou, Hubei province

Time: 26th day of the fourth month on the lunar calendar

Joint Hebei-Taiwan Ancestral Worship Ceremony for the Yellow Emperor, Yan Emperor and Chi You

Place: Zhuolu, Hebei province

Time: August or September

Cross-Straits Yan Emperor Hometown Ancestral Worship Ceremony

Place: Gaoping, Shanxi

Time: May

Hongtong Dahuaishu Dead Ghost Festival Ancestral Worship Ceremony

Place: Hongtong, Shanxi

Time: 15th day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar

Wansan Ancestor Worship and New Year Celebration Ceremony

Place: Suzhou, Jiangsu province

Time: New Year's Day