About 1,500 paper cards in different shape and size will be distributed for free at five service spots in the Fushouyuan cemetery from this weekend until the end of December.

    Mourners can write what ever they want to say to their ancestors and passed away relatives on the cards, said Yi Hua, deputy general manager of the cemetery.

    "People can either choose to hang the cards on trees around the tombs, or just put them on the graves," said Yi.

    The cemetery has prepared different cards for different needs, including cards for children, seniors, spouses and friends.

    "We expect people to form new ways of honoring the dead instead of the traditional burning of mock banknotes or letting off firecrackers in the cemetery, which can create safety problems," said Yi.

    The Winter Solstice Festival is the last festival on the Chinese lunar calendar each year. It usually falls on December 21 or 22 to coincide with the winter solstice.

    Different from the Qingming Festival, which is a time both for setting up new tombs and sweeping old tombs, the festival is considered the best time for burying ashes.

    The festival, which falls on December 22 this year, will witness great numbers of people traveling to cemeteries. A lot of people are also expected to visit graveyards on the two weekends before and after the festival.

    More than 2.3 million people in the city are expected to visit cemeteries as part of the festival, according to officials from the funeral management division of the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.

    About 25,000 new tombs will also be set up and about 143,000 vehicles will be used to take people to the graveyards, officials said.

    The large number of people traveling to suburban graveyards are often blamed for causing traffic jams and even many traffic accidents.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)