Mianshan mountain celebrations mark traditional festival

Runners head off on a marathon, at Mianshan Mountain tourist attraction in Shanxi province, April 2. More than 1,000 runners from home and abroad took part in the mountain marathon. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

A sports, culture and tourism festival marking Tomb Sweeping Day and the Cold Food Festival kicked off at Mianshan Mountain in Jiexiu county, in Shanxi province, on April 2.

A mountain marathon, an ancestor worship ceremony, a forum on the folk customs of Tomb Sweeping Day – as well as the Cold Food Festival and visits to intangible cultural heritage sites -- were organized for the three-day event.

Mianshan Mountain, an ancient holy site that has been settled for more than 2,600 years, is renowned as the birthplace of the Cold Food Festival (which takes place annually one day before Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival for honoring ancestors and the precursor of the Tomb Sweeping Day (Qingming Festival).