Like traditions and customs the world over, Ghost City and paper corteges are symbolic, another part of Chinese culture and history, as much as the Lion Dance and Dragon Dance.
Not that different, perhaps, to letting off firecrackers to scare away evil spirits on the Lunar New Year's Eve, wearing red to get married in, even the Chinese dragon.
Legend has it that when a person dies his spirit travels southwestwards to the mythical city of Fengdu, or Ghost city, east of Chongqing.
Located on the banks of the upper reaches of the mighty Yangtze -- China's artery -- is the destination of souls who live their allotted life of 60 years or more.
Today a "ghost city" has been built on the flanks of a mountain which slopes down to the Yangtze in Fengdu County, 72 kilometers downriver from Chongqing. Designed along the lines of the legends it has become a famous tourist attraction.
According to tradition, when a person dies, his body will be kept at home, or close by, for three days.
On the second day at dusk, immediately after sunset and before the moon appears, the cortege will be burnt. It is considered unlucky for the cortege to see sunlight or moonlight.
The third day is the day of the actual funeral. A parade is held with a musical band accompanying the body to the graveyard to be cremated or buried. Children of the deceased hold paper banners and bow down in honor to their dead parent.
If a person dies over the age of 60, it is not regarded as a tragedy as they have lived out their allotted time. Sixty years has long been considered a satisfactory lifespan to Chinese. Death is regarded as part of the cycle of life.
During the three days, family members will put up a tent outside their home where a sort of wake is held. Relatives and friends come to pay their respects and the children will kowtow - pay homage. The informality of the gathering, with eating, drinking, reminiscing and even playing cards, to the uninformed, belies its powerful symbolism and the role it plays in the grieving process.
But if a person dies prematurely, at a young age or in an accident there is no cortege and the whole funeral process will be conducted as quickly as possible to reduce the time of sorrow for the deceased's family.
In the year following a funeral of someone who has lived a full lifespan, a number of other rituals are followed. Five weeks later, a paper flower basket and a parasol are burnt and two months on a paper boat to carry the deceased's spirit onto Ghost City. The belief is that by that time the spirit will have reached the banks of the Yangtze and needs a boat to reach their destination on the opposite banks.
(China Daily April 5, 2005)
