Ceremony honoring legendary ancestor to be held

A grand ceremony paying homage to Huangdi, also known as the Yellow Emperor, will be held in Xinzheng, Central China's Henan province, on April 11, announced the organizing committee at a press conference in Beijing on Saturday.

Huangdi was the leader of the ancient Huaxia tribal alliance and the founding ancestor of Chinese civilization. During his reign, Huangdi cultivated crops, developed production, initiated the production of clothing and headwear, and promoted agriculture and sericulture, laying the foundation for the five thousand years of ancient Chinese civilization.

Xinzheng, the birthplace of Huangdi, hosts the annual worship ceremony, which was listed as national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

Du Xinjun, standing vice director of the organizing committee and chairman of the Zhengzhou City Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, introduced the main arrangements and preparation progress of the ceremony.

The ceremony will feature nine rituals including a 21-gun salute, the placing of a flower basket, burning incense, worshiping the gods, singing odes, dancing, praying for China, and wishing for harmony among the people, the heaven, and earth.

In the ritual of "praying for China", there will be a 75-meter-long giant dragon rising up from the Xuan Yuan mound to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Approximately 5,000 guests are expected to attend the ceremony, doubling last year's attendance. Hao Longbin, former vice-chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang, will be among the invitees.

Online and overseas worship activities will be held at the same time. The latest online and overseas worship platform for the ceremony will be launched on April 2. Its design is based on the cultural elements of Huangdi and the Chinese dragon while integrating new technologies such as AI, VR, and AR to enhance visual and interactive experiences.

During the ceremony, the Global Henan Business Conference, Huangdi Cultural Forum, and Huangdi Cultural Activities Week will also be held.

This year, the worship activities of Huangdi in the Greater Bay Area (Hong Kong), Taiwan province, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other places are still organized by overseas Chinese and compatriots, with official representatives invited, including the Central Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong and Embassy officials abroad.

The worship activity in the UK was successfully held on March 24 at 10 am local time in London's Chinatown; and in the US, it is scheduled to be held on March 31 at San Francisco City Hall Square.

Zhang Xianchun, deputy director of the Communications Bureau of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, Guo Qihua, deputy minister of the Cultural Exchange Department of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and Yang Yizhou, vice-president of the All-China Taiwanese Association, attended the conference. Li Ying, vice-president and secretary-general of the Chinese Cultural Research Association, delivered a speech on behalf of the organizers.

Wang Zhongshan, director of the event's coordination office and secretary general of the provincial People's Political Consultative Conference, presided over the conference. Wei Xiaowei, deputy secretary general of Henan Provincial People's Government, and Shi Dadong, executive deputy director of the organizing committee and vice-chairman of Zhengzhou City Political Consultative Conference, also attended the press conference.