Belying the myth that everyone in Shenzhen is from somewhere else, more than 30,000 people went to Shenzhen's five major cemeteries -- Jitian, Bao'en, Baoshan, Longshan and Huaqiao --- to sweep tombs of relatives and friends each day this week ahead of the annual Qingming Festival, which falls today (Apr. 5).

"All our staff have to work overtime these days. We also get about 100 people from other departments to serve the tomb visitors," said Guo Jintang, an official of the Shenzhen Municipal Burial Management Office, which is in charge of the cemeteries.

The number of visitors to the cemeteries is expected to sharply increase today. A source with Jitian Cemetery said more than 400 people from Caiwuwei Village in Luohu District would sweep tombs at the cemetery today. Fearing possible traffic jams, Chen Haiyun, head of the burial management office, suggested people sweep tombs before or after the festival.

Last Saturday alone, the five cemeteries received nearly 80,000 visitors, who brought traditional offerings such as roasted suckling pig, steamed bun, and fruit for their loved ones.

At Bao'en Cemetery in Nanshan District, three middle-aged couples were putting offerings, including chicken, fish, fruit and alcohol, in front of the tomb of the siblings'mother, who passed away five years ago. "We cherish the Tomb Sweeping Days. It's a time to honor our mother, and a rare chance to gather our big family together,"said a woman who came from Dongguan to join her brother and sister for the tomb sweeping.

At Jitian Cemetery, an elderly man put dumplings, bananas and sweets in front of a tomb and quietly cleaned his wife's picture on the gravestone. Then he stood motionless in front of the tomb, his eyes fixed on the picture. "Papa, it's time to go," a young man said gently after half an hour. But the man would not leave until an hour later.

Also at the cemetery, a banner's message says not to burn offerings in the cemetery, but some people still follow the traditional ritual of burning incense and mingbi, paper "money" that is said to be used by the deceased. With more earthly concerns, the burial management office's Chen Haiyun said burning incense and mingbi would cause pollution.

"In Hong Kong, few people burn incense or mingbi, for fear of polluting the environment," said a Hong Kong man identified by his surname Zhang, who came to Jitian to visit his family tomb. Zhang's offering was a bunch of chrysanthemums, a traditional flower for Tomb Sweeping Day.

Evidence that Mr. Zhang was not alone in continuing the tradition, the price of chrysanthemum quintupled ahead of the Qingming, according to the Daily Sunshine. The wholesale price of 10 chrysanthemums reached 10 yuan (US$1.25) this week although they usually sell for two or three yuan.

Mr. Zhang was among many Hong Kong residents coming to Shenzhen and other places in Guangdong to visit family tombs. The city's border checkpoint estimated a daily flow of 491,3000 individuals from March 31 through April 13, up 7.8 percent from last year.

Some of the travelers were carrying meat and fresh fruit, forbidden by the mainland's quarantine authority. Since March 27, the number of people caught carrying roasted suckling pig and fresh fruit has been increasing. The Luohu Checkpoint sees 20 to 30 people carrying suckling pig each day.

A city of migrants, many Shenzheners return home to sweep the tombs of their ancestors, while some have to resort to the Internet, as evidenced by the rise of messages on http://www.ty123.com.cn/Grave/.

"I return to my hometown every year to sweep tombs since I came to Shenzhen five years ago," said a man surnamed He, whose hometown is in Shaoguan, in northern Guangdong.

Mr. Xu, whose hometown is in Ji'an, Jiangxi, drove home Monday for the festival. "I paid few visits to my relatives in my hometown after I came to Shenzhen upon graduation. But after my grandpa passed away in 2004, I felt I should spend more time with relatives,"said Xu.

Editor: Yan