SHENYANG, April 1 (Xinhua) -- As Chinese prepare to mark Tomb-Sweeping Day, tech-savvy youngsters have brought a new digital perspective to this longstanding tradition of ancestor worship.
Many celebrating this national holiday from April 4-6 by paying their respects in graveyards may wonder what people are doing waving their smartphones over tombstones. The answer is that they are using two-dimensional quick response codes (QR codes) affixed to the monuments.
When scanned with modern digital gadgets, these small, square images allow mourners to access a virtual obituary where photos and video clips of the deceased can be found.
Cemeteries in Chinese cities including Shanghai, Shenyang and Fujian have seen a growing number of QR code stickers on headstones, right next to their engraved epitaphs.
Information provided by the codes, normally ranging from names and dates of birth and death, to life stories of the deceased, has made memorials more dynamic and interactive.
"With the cold text inscribed on the tombstone supplemented by live music and pictures, my memory of my grandmother can be refreshed," said a woman surnamed Wang who was applying for a QR code for her deceased grandmother in Shenyang. "That will extend her life," she added.
Wang said she was expecting more people, even strangers passing by the tomb, to learn of the "ordinary but precious" life of her grandmother, who was a teacher, with the help of the new technology.
In a country where people pay their respects to deceased family members by visiting and sweeping their tombs every spring, it has taken little time for the high-tech innovation to gain popularity.
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