BEIJING: 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. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
