Flowers, firecrackers and fake money are no longer enough for some Chinese when it comes to expressing gratitude to their ancestors, now burning paper luxury goods is the hottest thing when it comes to Qingming, the traditional Chinese festival that honors generations past.
Traditionally on Qinming (Pure Brightness) Festival people would simply burn fake money so the dearly departed will have it to spend in the other world. Now the living are praying and paying so the deceased can live it up in luxury.
All along Daxing Donglu Road of Haikou, capital of China's southernmost Hainan Province, people can buy expensive watches, vast villas, bars of gold, the hottest car and the fastest laptop.
None of the items cost more than 50 yuan (about US$6.25) and all of them will go in smoke when they're burned on Qingming Festival which falls on April 5.
The most expensive gift for the departed souls is a paper villa that's equipped with a swimming pool, a gym and foreign-faced bodyguards. At 80-cm long and 60-cm tall the villa's are the most sought after of the paper models.
A local shopkeeper says he selling 30 "villas" a day and customers have to book in advance as the festival approaches.
The shopkeeper says those in the here-and-now are also safety conscious as they make sure the fancy luxury sedan is accompanied by a nether world driver's license.
A random survey of the customers shows they're spending at least 50 yuan (about US$6.25) in the shop.
(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2006)
