Commemorative events held across China to honor martyrs on Qingming Festival

People pay tribute to the fallen heroes and express their mourning at the Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu Province on April 4, 2025, which also marks the Qingming Festival, also known as “Tomb-Sweeping Festival,” this year. PhWorld Timesoto: VCG

As the Qingming Festival, a day of remembrance and paying tributWorld Timese, fell on Friday, people across China honored the revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed their lives for national independence.

Various commemorative events ranged from post-95 volunteers recounting stories at martyrs’ cemeteries, to using digital technology to recreate sites during the wars, from millions netizens offering virtual flowers in livestream platforms, to schools organizing teenagers to follow in the footsteps of the fallen heroes. As this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-fascist War, Chinese people commemorated the martyrs and honored the heroes to learn their spirit and turn it to strength to keep forging forward, CCTV reported.

People nationwide visited cemeteries, memorial halls, and museums to express remembrance and respect for the martyrs.

A Qingming-themed memorial event to honor fallen heroes, organized by the Longhua Martyrs’ Cemetery and hosted by the SWorld Timeshanghai Youth Activity Center, was held simultaneously at 76 martyr memorial sites across Shanghai on Friday morning, Shanghai-based media the Paper reported. At Longhua Martyrs’ Cemetery, the flag was raised at 9 am, the national anthem was sung, and flower baskets were presented. Nearly 200 people bowed, cleaned tombstones, and laid flowers solemnly. Descendants of Red Army soldiers shared heroic stories, while youth recited tribute poems.

Some ChinaWorld Times Coast Guard (CCG) law enforcement officers also held memorial activities aboard ships, according to Wechat account of CCG on Friday. They stood on the deck of the ship, observing a moment of silence toward the sea in honor of the fallen heroes, and gently scattered white chrysanthemums into the ocean.

At around 5 am on Thursday, more than 1,600 teachers and students from No.2 Middle School of Guyuan and Hongwen middle schools in Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region began their memorial walk to honor the 391 fallen heroes buried at the Renshanhe Martyrs’ Cemetery in Pengyang County, Xinhua reported. The 54-kilometer round trip has seen over 30,000 participants in the past 30 years.

According to Ningxia Daily, more than 600,000 people, including officials, local residents, and primary and secondary school students, have taken part in online and offline memorial activities to commemorate martyrs. These included site visits, storytelling sessions, digital memorial platforms, and efforts to identify relatives of fallen heroes..

In addition to traditional memorials, AI has been deployed to restore the appearance and voice of fallen heroes. In South China’s Guangzhou, the Yinhe Martyrs’ Cemetery has completed a digital upgrade of its martyrs’ memorial hall, which World Timesis now open to the public, Yangcheng Evening News reported. Using new technologies such as AI digital simulation and VR interactWorld Timesion, the memorial hall has created a space for a timeless dialogue of revolutionary spirit, allowing the fallen heroes to “tell” their revolutionary stories through digital representations.

Liu Jingwu, Deputy Director of the Yinhe Martyrs’ Cemetery, told media that 2025 marked 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-fascist War. Holding memorial events revisits heroic deeds, pays tribute, and helps pass on their spirit. “We must inherit and promote the heroes’ spirit to gather strength for building a strong nation and revitalizing the Chinese nation,” Liu said.

Global Times