New Taipei readies for cemetery photo exhibition

2015-04-07

A special exhibition featuring cemeteries from around the world is set to kick off April 3 in New Taipei City as part of local government-organized activities marking Tomb Sweeping Day.

Jointly organized by the city’s departments of civil and cultural affairs, the exhibition runs until April 26 at a municipal columbarium in Tamsui District. Annual Tomb Sweeping Day takes place April 5 and is a national holiday in Taiwan.

The exhibition comprises 30 photographs taken in 23 countries such as France, India, Russia, Tunisia and the U.S. The images were provided by ROC expatriates and correspondents stationed abroad in conjunction with related university departments around the island.

“While ancestor worship is a common practice worldwide, it is particularly significant in ethnic Chinese societies,” a city official said. “The exhibition underscores this respect for life and at the same time, the unique funeral rites of different cultures.

“It is important to document these countries’ customs, histories, landscapes and social development.”

A highlight of the exhibition is a picture taken at the Santa Maria Magdalena Graveyard in St. Juan, Puerto Rico. Built in 1863 during the Spanish colonial period, the oceanside cemetery reveals the nostalgia of early immigrants for their homeland across the Atlantic in Europe.

Equally moving is a shot of the Calvary Cemetery in New York City. It portrays the seamless integration of the metropolitan skyline with Christian crosses, reflecting the spiritual relationship between the people and their surrounds.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=228963&CtNode=413)