An ancestor worship ceremony takes place in Hongtong Dahuaishu Ancestor Memorial Garden in Linfen city, Shanxi province, on Oct 28. [Photo/sxgov.cn]

An ancestor worship ceremony was held in Hongtong Dahuaishu Ancestor Memorial Garden in Linfen city, Shanxi province, on Oct 28. 

Descendants of overseas Chinese and groups taking part in study tours, as well as a number of journalists covering the event attended the ceremony, paying homage and showing their respects to their ancestors.

The ceremony included the local customs of Hongtong county, with performers staging the traditional Weifeng drum and gong dance, and a Bayi Dance –– one of the most important sacrificial dance in ancient China.

Hongtong Dahuaishu, or the Big Locust Tree, is where many Chinese people around the world believe their ancestors started their long immigration trek during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

A huge number of people from across the country and overseas visit the memorial garden, which is built around a holy tree, on Tomb Sweeping Day, when Chinese people traditionally making an offering to their ancestors and remember their deceased family members. 

The Hongtong Dahuaishu Ancestor Memorial Garden was rated a national 5A tourist attraction in 2018.