Qingming Festival (清明节): remembering ancestors in spring

Qingming, often called Tomb-Sweeping Day, falls on 4 or 5 April each year: Monday 5 April in 2027. It is the most important time of year for Chinese families to visit their ancestors' graves and columbarium niches, tidy them and make offerings. This guide explains when it falls, where it comes from, what families do at the grave, what to bring, and what to know for Chinese families.

A guide from Nirvana Hall of Remembrance. Customs vary between families, dialect groups and places; if your family has its own way, follow it.

When is Qingming?

Unlike most Chinese festivals, Qingming does not follow the lunar calendar. It is one of the 24 solar terms (节气), which follow the sun, so it always falls on 4 or 5 April. Its lunar date changes each year, and that is the date written on a parcel seal.

Year	Date	Lunar date
2026	Sunday 5 April	丙午年二月十八
2027	Monday 5 April	丁未年二月廿九
2028	Tuesday 4 April	戊申年三月初十

Qingming is a public holiday in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and mainland China, but not in Singapore or Malaysia. In 2027 Easter comes the week before (Good Friday is 26 March), so Hong Kong families have two long weekends close together.

Which days can you visit?

Families do not have to visit on the day itself. Many go on a weekend in the weeks around it, and a common rule is to visit within about ten days before or after Qingming. Some families prefer to go before the day rather than after it; ask your elders what your family does.

Where Qingming comes from

清明 means "clear and bright", the weather of mid-spring. The festival grew out of the older Cold Food Festival (寒食节), held a day or two before it, when no fires were lit and only cold food was eaten.

The Cold Food Festival is linked to the story of Jie Zitui (介子推), a loyal follower of Duke Wen of Jin (晋文公). During the duke's years in exile, Jie is said to have cut flesh from his own thigh to feed him. When the duke came to power, Jie refused any reward and withdrew to the mountains with his mother. The duke set fire to the forest to drive him out, but Jie died in the fire rather than leave. In grief, the duke ordered that no fires be lit on that day.

By the Tang dynasty, visiting the graves at Cold Food had become an official custom, and over time it merged into Qingming. Today Qingming is the main day for remembering ancestors, while also being a spring festival of outings in the fresh green countryside (踏青).

What families do at the grave

The order varies from family to family, but a visit usually goes like this.

1. Sweep and tidy 扫墓

The family clears weeds and fallen leaves, sweeps the grave, wipes the headstone, and may repaint the faded characters of the inscription. At a columbarium, this means wiping the niche and its plaque and replacing old flowers.

2. Honour the Earth God first 土地公 · 后土

Many graves have a small stone beside them for the Earth God, who guards the grave. Families often make a small offering and light incense there first, before the ancestors. Some also set aside a little for wandering spirits who have no family to visit them.

3. Set out offerings and pay respects 祭拜

Food, fruit, tea or wine, and flowers are laid out before the grave. Candles and joss sticks are lit, and each family member in turn holds the joss sticks, bows (some kneel) and places them in the burner, usually starting with the eldest. Many speak quietly to their ancestors, telling them family news.

4. Burn joss paper and parcels 烧纸钱 · 化包袱

Gold and silver joss paper, paper money and paper parcels (包袱, bao fu) are burned for the ancestors to use in the afterlife. Burn them only in the burner provided.

5. Leave paper on the grave 压纸

Before leaving, many families weigh down sheets of paper on top of the grave, a sign that it has been tended. Hokkien families often use colourful grave paper (墓纸); Cantonese families often use red or yellow paper.

6. Take the food home

The food is usually not left behind. Families take it home and share it, as eating what has been offered is believed to bring the ancestors' blessing.

Other Qingming customs

In different places people fly kites, wear or hang willow sprigs (插柳) to keep bad luck away, and eat seasonal foods: green rice cakes (青团) in the Jiangnan region, and popiah (润饼) among many Hokkien families.

What to bring

• incense, a pair of red candles, and gold and silver joss paper;
• paper parcels or other paper offerings, if your family burns them;
• fruit such as oranges or apples, and the food your loved one enjoyed; roast pork and chicken are common at graves;
• tea or wine, poured in three small cups;
• fresh flowers;
• a cloth, gloves, a small broom or shears, and a bag to take rubbish away;
• water, a hat and an umbrella, as the weather can be hot or wet.

At many Buddhist columbaria and temples, only vegetarian offerings are allowed. Check before you bring meat.

Qingming in Singapore

Most families in Singapore visit a columbarium niche, as most old cemeteries have been cleared and cremation is now the norm. Choa Chu Kang Cemetery, and the government columbaria at Mandai, Choa Chu Kang and Yishun, see very large crowds on the weekends around Qingming.

• Go on a weekday or early in the morning if you can, as the weekends before Qingming are the busiest.
• In past years, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has asked drivers to book an e-appointment for some sites at peak times and run free shuttle buses from nearby MRT stations. Check NEA's advisory nearer the time, as each year's arrangements are announced shortly before.
• Burn joss paper only in the burners provided, and clear away your offerings and rubbish when you leave.
• Columbaria usually do not allow eating inside the halls or bringing pets.

Qingming in Hong Kong

Families climb to hillside graves and visit public and private columbaria across the territory. The Transport Department makes special transport arrangements for the main cemeteries over the weekends around Qingming, and some roads close. Public transport is strongly advised.

Hill fires are a real risk at grave-sweeping time. Burn offerings only in the burners provided, never leave anything smouldering, and consider bringing flowers instead of burning on the hillside. Check what each cemetery or columbarium allows before you go.

Writing the parcel seal for Qingming

If you burn a paper parcel (包袱, bao fu), it carries a yellow seal with three columns: who it is for, the occasion and who sends it. The middle column for Qingming reads:

清明节追远 冥中宝用

("remembering at Qingming, for treasured use in the netherworld"). The date beneath the senders is the lunar date of the day you burn the parcel; for Qingming 2027 itself, it is 丁未年二月廿九. For the other two columns, the titles for parents and grandparents, and worked examples, see How to write a Qingming parcel seal.

Quick answers

When is Qingming Festival in 2027?

Qingming falls on Monday 5 April 2027 (丁未年二月廿九). It is one of the 24 solar terms, so it always falls on 4 or 5 April: it was Sunday 5 April in 2026, and is Tuesday 4 April in 2028. It is a public holiday in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and mainland China, but not in Singapore or Malaysia.

Do you have to visit the grave on the day of Qingming?

No. Many families go on a weekend in the weeks around it, and a common rule is to visit within about ten days before or after Qingming. Some families prefer to go before the day rather than after it.

What are the steps of a Qingming grave visit?

Families sweep and tidy the grave or niche, often make a small offering to the Earth God (土地公) first, then set out food, fruit, tea or wine and flowers, light candles and joss sticks, and bow in order of seniority. They burn joss paper and parcels in the burner, weigh down paper on the grave, and take the food home to share.

What should I bring for Qingming?

Incense, a pair of red candles, gold and silver joss paper, fruit and the food your loved one enjoyed, tea or wine in three small cups, fresh flowers, and a cloth, gloves and a small broom to tidy the grave. Many Buddhist columbaria allow only vegetarian offerings.

Can I make a Qingming offering if I cannot visit the grave?

Yes. At Nirvana Hall of Remembrance you can send a parcel (包袱, bao fu) online. The seal is written for you with the Qingming line, the correct title and the lunar date, and the offering appears on your loved one's memorial page for the family to see.

Also read: How to write a Qingming parcel (包袱) seal · Chung Yeung Festival: remembering ancestors in autumn · The days after a death: 头七, 七七, 百日 and 对年