It’s spring in the Jing and that means picnics are back! Between the food, the drinks, the folding chairs, and the blankets, there’s a good amount of lifting and hauling involved in any good picnic, and you can’t forget to bring a few things to keep the kids busy. But how can you add fun without the extra bulk to cart around? Here are my go-to, easy, portable, and lightweight toys for your Qingming Festival picnic.

before you make your plans, here‘s how to check if the park you want to go to is open.

Frisbee: An oldie but a goody, frisbees are flat, light, and inexpensive. Plus, they are a two-for-one kind of toy. If you bring four they can serve as safe bases for games of tag or kickball.

Beach Balls: Beach balls are flat, light, and inexpensive (sensing a theme here). There are also a billion games you can play with them, and if they break or get lost they, well, they were only RMB 2.5 each. For a switch-up on kickball that even your smallest friends can play, have the kids kick the lightweight ball from a still position (instead of pitching it) and run the bases.

Bubbles: Who doesn’t love bubbles? But don’t bring a massive, heavy bottle. Instead, bring one or two of the tiny party bottles that can fit easily into any pocket. They are the exact right amount of liquid for 30 minutes to an hour of bubble fun, which is all you really need anyway.

Tissue Box: This is a great hack for entertaining your toddler I learned years ago from a friend. You will need to bring tissues on your outing anyway. Once you arrive at your picnic area, pull the tissues out of the box or bag and set them aside. In the empty tissue box put small manipulatives like key chains, small toys, a spoon, a leaf, a rock, etc. Then give it to your toddler and tell them it’s a surprise box! Let them reach in and pull the toys out one at a time. Then they can refill it with their own small treasures. It’s object permanence, fine motor skills, and will keep them entertained for 15 min while you unpack.

Chalk: Just don’t get the massive and heavy jug of 50 pieces. The small box is fine and the kids will have fun. If there is no concrete around, have them color on rocks they scavenge or on paper plates.

Spot It: I love this game for the entire family. It’s simple to learn but surprisingly addictive, and I would bet money your kids will beat you at it. If the kids do get bored there are alternate ways to play, and if a few cards get lost the game is still usable.

We wish you a laughter-filled and ant-free day in the fresh air!

KEEP READING: Inside Universal Beijing CityWalk’s Chocolate Factory

Images: TaoBao, Canva

This weekend is Qingming Festival. For most people it is nothing more than a long weekend, but for many locals this weekend is a time to pay respects to their departed loved ones.

Qingming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day is a day people traditionally observed by visiting and tidying their family graves, kind of like a spring cleaning for the dead. It’s a time to pay respects and send love and prayers to deceased loved ones. Many people will choose to visit the cemetery, but those unable to physically go can do pay their respects by burning paper.

However, during the first year of COVID-19 restrictions, no one but staff members were allowed to enter cemeteries during Qingming Festival. These conditions gave birth to a new business model – virtual tomb sweeping, where you can now pay staff at a cemetery to clean your ancestors’ graves, place offerings, and recite prayers for you.

When I was about 6 years old, one of my cousins told me that Qingming Festival is believed to be a time when the Hell Gates are open and spirits wander freely into our world. For years after that I would always sleep with the lights on and refuse to go outside at night during Qingming Festival.

So how do you explain this holiday to your kids without scaring them for years to come?

Turn it into a teaching moment and explain that each culture has its own beliefs. If they go out after sundown this weekend they’ll most likely see people burning paper at intersections. No matter how fluent your Chinese is, it’s definitely not the right time to ask for a cultural lesson. So here’s our quick explanation.

The paper being burned this weekend is not your average A4 notebook paper. it’s called burn paper 烧纸 (shāozhǐ), the paper used specifically to honor the dead. Traditional paper will have money printed on it, but nowadays you can find really creative burn paper shaped like houses, cars, clothes, and even the latest tech gadgets like iPhones!

People burning papers at intersections are those with recently departed loved ones (meaning siblings, parents, grandparents, etc.). It’s not very common for people to burn papers for their ancestors from a few generations ago.

A circle is drawn on the ground, and food to honor the departed is placed in plates next to the circle. Then incense is lit and placed alongside the circle. Before the official paper burning for your loved ones begins, you need to place a smaller plate of offering food and burn a small amount of paper money outside the circle for the passing ghosts. This is so that the passing ghosts will be satisfied and not grab the things intended for your loved one. Think of it as a ghost tax. Once that paper burns out, you can begin. Start by saying your loved one’s full name and tell them to get ready to receive money and goodies. Then start burning.

Once all the burn paper has been used up, stay until the incense burns out.

After the incense burns out, it’s time to leave.

Douse water on the pile of ashes to make sure you’re not leaving a fire hazard behind, but don’t clean up the ashes or the offering food. While littering is frowned upon, this weekend there will be plenty of street cleaners on the lookout for ashes and offerings left at intersections.

It took me a while to get over my fear of the Qingming Festival, but had it been explained to me better at age 6, I wouldn’t have associated the holiday with zombies and ghosts. Rather, I would have seen it for what it actually is: a wholesome holiday that allows us to pay our respects to and remember our dearly departed loved ones.

If you’re still looking for a cultural activity to do, Bespoke Travel Company is hosting a Qingming Festival edition of their famous Beihai Park Scavenger Hunt on Sunday, Apr 3 from 9am to 1pm.

Here’s how it works: You create your own team of 1 to 5 people to compete for the 2022 Qingming Edition Trophy. Teams will begin between 8am and 9am, and will have exactly four hours to compete all five zones of the scavenger hunt before handing in their booklets for scoring.

It costs RMB 299 per person and will include your ticket to Beihai Park, scavenger hunt booklet, a drink and snack, and a shot at winning the trophy!

To enter Beihai Park, you’ll need to have your passport on hand, a green Health Code, and you’ll of course need to wear a mask. To get your tickets for this Sunday’s scavenger hunt, scan the QR code below.

KEEP READING: Does It Rain Everywhere During Qingming Festival?

Images: Pexels, Bespoke Travel Company

Qingming Festival is just around the corner, and soon we will have an extra holiday day in May! Do you already have plans for it? Traveling in China can be either quite a convenience or a big hassle, especially when it comes to booking a train ticket. With one of the largest and busiest railway networks in the world, trains in China connect almost every town and city. Still, booking a train ticket can be rather user-unfriendly when you encounter a language barrier. Here are some handy words and sentences to help you buy a train ticket.

Types of trains and train tickets

Local train
慢车 mán chē

High-speed train
高铁; 动车 gāo tiě ; dòng chē

Special express
特快专列 tè kuài zhuān liè

Single ticket
单程票 dān chéng piào

Return ticket
返程票 fǎn chéng piào

Types of train seats

Hard seat
硬坐 yìng zuò

Soft seat
软坐 ruǎn zuò

Hard sleeper
硬卧 yìng wò

Soft sleeper
软卧 ruǎn wò

Standing ticket
站票 zhàn piào

First-class seat
一等座 yī děng zuò

Second-class seat
二等座 èr děng zuò

Coach/economy class seat
经济舱 jīng jì cāng

Business-class seat
商务座 shāng wù zuò

How to buy train tickets

There are two main ways to buy train tickets in China. One is to buy online. The easiest way to do this is via trip.com as they have an English version, and also a hotline in English. However, you can’t print tickets purchased online, you need to pick up the physical ticket at the train station. Alternatively you can buy at the station. However you must bring your passport with you – no passport, no ticket! Be aware that most train tickets can only be booked 30 days before departure, or 28 days in advance at railway stations or local ticket offices. 

Phrases

I want to buy two train tickets to Beijing.
我要买两张去北京的火车票。Wǒ yào mǎi liǎng zhāng qù Beijīng de huǒ chē piào.

What date do you want?
你要几号的？ Ní yào jǐ hào de？

I want to buy a ticket on 6^th.
我要买六号的。Wǒ yào mǎi liù hào de.

Do you want to buy first-class seats or second-class?
你要一等座还是二等座？Ní yào yī děng zuò hái shì èr děng zuò?

Hard seat or soft seat?
硬座还是软座？Yìng zuò hái shì ruǎn zuò？

I want to buy the soft seat one, thank you!
我要买软座，谢谢！ Wǒ yào mǎi ruǎn zuò，xiè xiè!

Photos: 163.com

There are twelve months in a year, but only one that is the first full month of spring: April! And with it comes some holidays, each one providing an opportunity for a special family outing. To help you get into the spirit of April Fool’s Day trickery, and to understand the traditions surrounding Qingming Festival, here are a few handy phrases in Chinese you might want to know.

April Fool’s Day

Around the turn of the 16th century, the French moved New Year’s Day from April 1st to January 1st.  As soon as the new calendar appeared, those who still celebrated the old one were considered ignorant and uneducated fools, and thus April Fool’s day was born. Beware the pranksters on April 1!

Happy April Fool’s Day!
愚人节快乐！Yú rén jié kuài lè!

You are silly.
你真傻。Nǐ zhēn shǎ.

You are a noodle if a trick is played on you.
如果你被骗了，你就是个傻瓜。Rú guǒ nǐ bèi piàn le, nǐ jiù shì shǎ guā.

Hey! You dropped your wallet. (A joke.)
嘿，钱包掉了。（开玩笑）Nǐ de qián bāo diào le. (kāi wán xiào)

Your shoelace is untied. Haha. Happy April Fool’s Day!
你的鞋带开了。哈哈, 愚人节快乐！Nǐ de xié dài kāi le. Hāhā, Yú rén jié kuài lè!

Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day)

The Qingming Festival falls on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, which is usually in April (this year, it’s on April 5). It is an occasion for visiting ancestral graves to make ritual offerings. People would typically bring food dishes and fruits, and burn joss paper and joss sticks to show reverence to their ancestors. Following traditional folk religion, Chinese people believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors looked after the family. Today, it’s a day to visit their family cemeteries and tend to the bushes that have grown, as well as a time to gather together with family together in good weather.

Qingming Festival/Tomb-Sweeping Day
清明节 Qīng míng jié

Offer sacrifices to ancestors
祭祖 Jì zǔ

Hell note/joss paper
纸钱 Zhǐ qián

Tomb-sweeping
扫墓 sǎo mù

Kite flying
放风筝 Fàng fēng zhēng

Spring outing
踏青 Tà qīng

Filial piety
孝顺／孝心 Xiào shùn/ Xiào xīn

Photo: Pixabay.com

“A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day; The mourner’s heart is going to break on his way.” That’s the beginning line of a widely-known Tang poem describing the gloominess of Qingming Festival, a traditional Chinese festival to worship the deceased that falls annually on April 5th.

It’s not difficult to tell from this poem that Qingming is an occasion that usually comes with grief over great losses.

I grew up in a small village with less than 200 households. The villagers were quite close and familiar with each other since it’s such a small place, and people will be invited to all the local celebrations such as weddings, and parties for new born babies; occasions I looked forward to a lot (because I was a kid), and funerals, where I barely had access to (also because I was a kid).

The concept of death was something missing to me as a kid, and there was only one thing I knew for sure- it’s a topic that would always come with its euphemisms, and that made it even more of a topic of confusion for me.

I have this memory that there was a nanny always being nice to me. She would tease me every time she walked past our house, and always surprised me with some wild fruits she picked.

One time I accompanied my mom to do farm work in a vegetable field on the foot of a small hill, when we walked past a big tree, with a small slope gated with a stone tablet under the tree. I remember myself asking; “What is that for, mom?”

I can’t recollect exactly what my mom’s answer was, though I think it was something along the lines of; “Remember the Nanny always gave you those wild fruits? That’s where she sleeps now.”

That’s probably the first time I had a conversation about death, though not in a very understandable way. I remember she used the word “sleep” because that’s a common euphemism people use when talk about death.

When I look back, I think the neglect of being taught about this concept of death definitely adds more fears towards it. I still remember the young me being frightening to think what a lonely place that nanny sleeps in, and even more frightening to imagine what if that happens to me.

It seems still the case in Chinese culture that death is a taboo subject. If you search for euphemisms about death, there are nearly a hundred of them. Oral ones such as 没了(méi le)，走了 (zǒu le)，are similar to “gone”; and more written and respectable ones including 去世(qù shì)，作古 (zuò gǔ), generally can be translated as “pass away” in English.

As a day for worshipping the ones we lost, Qingming naturally slips into people’s minds with a certain amount of melancholy. Actually, there is a part of the definition of Qingming that is usually being neglected by people, as it is supposed to be an occasion to celebrate life while worshipping the dead.

Certainly, bottling those feelings up towards death doesn’t take it away, however it would benefit us more if we were able to see through the loss with more courage and gratefulness towards life.

If I could time travel back to that day, I wish I could have been told gently; “That nanny is dead. Death is not a punishment, it happens to everyone. And it’s not the ending, she is having a good life in the other world because she was such a lovely person.” That, I think, would have made the acceptance of my grandfather’s leaving less painful for me years later.

Photo: courtesy of Pixabay

This year, Qingming falls on April 4. We’re all happy for the extra holidays, but do you actually know the story behind this festival? Also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, Qingming Festival is a combination of happiness and sadness. It’s a time for Chinese families to commemorate their dead and, at the same time, welcome the arrival of spring.

The festival traditionally signifies the beginning of spring, when temperatures start to rise and rainfall increases. This helped farmers know the right time to start plowing their fields and sowing their crops.

On Qingming, it’s customary to sweep the tombs of relatives, ancestors, and national heroes who have passed on. Families also make offer food, and burn incense and paper money to help the dead in the other world. The process has been simplified with the rise of cremation. Often, only flowers are offered at the memorial stone.

Qingming Festival has a long history. It was first celebrated in the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) as a memorial day for Jie Zitui. As legend goes, there was much fighting for the throne during the period of the Warring States (771-476 BC). The prince, Chong’er, managed to escape and went on a long exile with his followers.

One day, Chong’er was starving to death when Jie Zitui, one of his followers, saved him by cutting off a piece of own flesh to prepare a soup with. After 19 years, Chong’er returned to his kingdom and became Duke Wen of Jin.

He wanted to reward all his followers, but Jie Zitui chose to lead a hermit’s life in the mountains instead.

The Duke traveled to the mountains to reward Jie Zitui personally, but couldn’t find him. To force him out, he rather drastically set fire to the mountain. When Jie Zitui was found dead a few days later, the Duke decided to commemorate his death by establishing the Hanshi (or Cold Food) Festival, during which only cold food can be eaten.

One year later, the Duke returned to the mountain and found that all the burnt willows had revived. He was reminded of Jie Zitui’s nobleness and swept his tomb in respect. He then declared the day after Hanshi Festival to be Qingming Festival. The two festivals were later combined; this is where the tradition of not cooking and eating cold food comes from in the modern version of Qingming.

A typical activity on Qingming Festival is the flying of kites – not regular kites, but so-called “god lanterns.” These have a string of little lanterns tied to the kite to resemble shining stars in the night sky. What’s more, the string should be cut to bring good luck and even cure diseases.

If you can’t make it out of Beijing for Qingming, take advantage of the mild weather to visit one of the city’s numerous parks and join the locals in celebration.  

Photo from flickr user Runa B