So before you're like "what the hell are you doing posting pictures of a cemetery?" lol, I'll explain how I (Maria) came to visit a Chinese cemetery and why I thought this was so interesting.
My driver's (Xiao Xiao) father had cancer and died a year ago. On his anniversary Xiao Xiao invited me to the cemetery so I can see how Chinese people do things when they visit an ancestor that passed away.
So this is the interesting part....... Chinese people believe that when you visit someone that passed on it has to be before Noon time, otherwise their spirit is no longer there and you can not speak to it.
On the above picture you can see that they placed all this food in front of the tomb...... they believe that if you place that food before Noon, that he/she receives it on the other side.
Xiao Xiao's mother made all of his favorite foods.
Xiao Xiao speaking to his father.
So because China is extremely over populated they cremate everyone and place their ashes in these tombs. The cemetery is designed to go up, like stairs, is not flat land like it is in America.
These are some type of "fireplace/ burners" I don't know the exact name for them, but they use them to burn the food and also things that represent "money". Not real money, you'll see on the pictures below what I mean.
They believe that if it's burned before Noon that somehow it gets received on the other side. So the point is to do everything before noon.... Xiao Xiao mentioned that usually there are no visitors at the cemetery after 12pm.
This is Xiao Xiao burning the "money" for this father.
These are things that represent "money" or "gold"...... when I asked Xiao Xiao what these were for? His answer was " People that pass away don't have the means to make money, because they don't work, so their families have to send them money." Then I was thinking to myself, " duh... of course that's why, dead people need some cash too!" lol
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