Ching Ming Festival: the high cost of honouring the dead in Hong Kong

Grave-sweeping day is an important part of the Ching Ming Festival, which is a 2,500-year-old tradition that sees millions flock to cemeteries to pay tribute to their dead. Family members and friends burn paper money, light joss sticks, offer food and other trinkets to their departed loved ones. These offerings can cost a lot of money. What’s worse, as Hong Kong is running out of space for cemeteries, columbariums and cremation facilities, the dignity of death is feared to be under threat.