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The Silkworm Flower Folk Customs Fair was held in silk-producing areas of east China's Zhejiang Province on the Qingming Festival, or the Tomb-Sweeping Day, to pray for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest.
In Huzhou City, the "silk blossom fairy," adorned in traditional attire, scattered flowers to the villagers during the folklore parade, representing the farmers' hope for a prosperous season of silk production.
This event, held during the tomb-sweeping period, is an integral part of Chinese silk culture.
"In the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), Zhejiang became an important departure point of Maritime Silk Road, serving as a hub for silk production, trade, and information. On every Qingming Festival, farmers would start the silkworm cocoons cultivation, making sericulture a significant event in local people's lives. Hence, celebrating Qingming Festival is as grand as celebrating the Chinese New Year," said Shen Hong, a cultural heritage enthusiast in Huzhou City.
The fair in charming city of Tongxiang also offered a glimpse into the unique culture of the silk-producing areas, with an array of traditional folk activities, such as crafting sericulture tool, water parade and acrobatics on boat, attracting tourists from home and aboard.
"The silkworm flower fair has been around since my childhood. It enables better promotion of traditional sericulture and mulberry culture, allowing more visitors to know about sericulture and mulberry-related practices," said Chen Haiying, a local resident.
The Qingming Festival, which falls on April 4 this year, is a Chinese festival when people pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors by visiting tombs and making offerings. This year, its holiday runs from Thursday to Saturday.