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Paper iPhone, iPad a fad for cemetery visitors

Shanghai Daily, March 29, 2012

• Paper-made Apple products

  
  
  

  Paper-made Apple products have become a fad during this year's Qingming Festival, a time for the Chinese to sweep the tombs of their ancestors and burn offerings that are supposed to reach the dead in the other world.

  A high-quality paper iPhone 4 and iPad 2 complete with an earphone and a battery charger cost up to a hundred yuan and more, the Beijing Morning Post reported today.

  These fancy imitations are available only through advanced booking due to their time-consuming fabrication, says a paper goods shop owner who noted that the paper iPhone and iPad even have an earphone jack.

  Some customers say they burn the paper gadgets to "let the dead relatives feel the development of the society," the report said.

  Besides Apple products, paper-made digital cameras, luxury cars and mahjong are also on the shelves in some funeral goods stores.

  The Qingming Festival, also known as the Tomb Sweeping Day, falls on April 4 this year. Chinese families will clean the tombstones of their ancestors and deceased members and burn paper money to ensure they are well-off in the netherworld.

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