Foundation offers memorial photo service

In the past four years, Yang Xin has taken portrait photos of more than 2,000 elderly people. The photos are used as mementos when the seniors die.

Yang used to be a journalist at Shangluo Daily in Shaanxi province. When traveling between different villages in the city to conduct interviews, she came across many elderly people whose children had left home to work in cities.

With young people almost absent from the villages, the seniors accounted for the main labor force, and many people age 80 and older still worked on farmland, she told Huxiu, a news website.

One time, a villager told her that an elderly man had passed away in his home, but his death went unnoticed for several days. His children held a funeral, but there was no portrait photo of the man available for the ceremony.

Yang later discovered that few seniors sit for portrait photos. She thought that as someone whose major work was photography she could do something to help them. So, she founded a nonprofit organization that focuses on elderly people and young children in rural villages.

Initially, she and her team worried about how the seniors would react to their offer because death is a taboo subject in Chinese society.

However, after hearing about the initiative, local village officials offered great support. Meanwhile, after learning that the service was free, senior villagers were also very enthusiastic.

After they had their photo taken, the seniors told their neighbors, so more people came along, Yang said.

"They did not avoid the subject of death, and they faced it bravely," she said. "You can tell from their expressions that death is not taboo. They would even compare each other's photos to see who had the best one."

The elderly villagers' view of death is that everyone will become a portrait photo on a desk sooner or later, Yang said, adding that their children who work in cities probably have no idea that their elderly parents have made considerable preparations for death, such as what to wear at the funeral.

Despite that, many have never had their portrait taken, and that would be a source of regret for them. However, with their portraits, they feel they have lived fulfilled lives, she said.

"What they care about is the image they leave for their children and grandchildren, so the photos will be there for them after their death," she noted. She added that many older parents have lived their whole lives for their children, and they do not worry much about death.

In villages, when people pass away and are taken to the cemetery, their grandchildren carry their portrait, followed by their coffin and other relatives.

If there is no portrait photo at the funeral, it means that their children have not been filial enough. The seniors do not want their funeral to be talked down by others, so they want to have a satisfactory portrait photo for the ceremony, she said.

Yang has posted videos of her initiative on the social media platform Douyin, where her account has more than 32,000 followers.

Many netizens have left positive comments about her video posts and thanked her for taking photos of their parents and grandparents. "My grandfather died suddenly, and the portrait photo you took is the best one of him ever," one netizen wrote.

Some people said Yang has even inspired them to take portraits of their grandparents.

However, it has been difficult to raise funds for the organization. Most of the money for Yang's work comes from netizens' donations, and she has even held street sales in stalls to try to raise money.