Ching Ming Festival is approaching, and it is expected that a large number of grave sweepers will visit Cape Collinson-San Ha Columbarium (the Columbarium) with joss papers and offerings to pay tribute to their ancestors during the festive period. Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) appeals to members of the public to consider staggering grave-sweeping activities over a wider period before and after the Ching Ming Festival and avoid grave sweeping during the peak period on the day of the Ching Ming Festival (4 April 2025) so as to avoid overcrowding.
Given the anticipated high volume of grave sweepers to the Columbarium on the day of the Ching Ming Festival, it is expected that many people will utilize the escalators of Pedestrian Access Route (PAR) connecting San Ha Street and the Columbarium to pay tribute to their ancestors. On this day, the operating hours of the escalators will be from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. To better facilitate crowd management, FEHD will adjust the direction of the highest section of the escalators (i.e. escalators E11 and E12 near the Cape Collinson Road exit) to operate upwards during the peak hours from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. As such, visitors descending the hill during this period are advised to observe on-site notices and follow the instructions of on-site staff, using the adjacent stairs of the escalators to reach the lower platform. From there, they can either take the escalators to the San Ha Street exit or directly leave via the stairs.
A longer queueing time for burning paper offerings in joss paper burners (JPBs) is expected in the coming festive period. FEHD appeals to JPB users for using JPBs in ten minutes. To save time for physical queuing, no walk-in queue for JPBs will be allowed in the Columbarium during the peak period of the Ching Ming Festival, i.e. on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays from 15 March 2025 to 21 April 2025. All JPB users must make advance booking via the FEHD’s website OR obtain queue tickets on site for the use of JPBs. Details of the arrangement are as follows:
i) Online Booking System
The online system will start to accept bookings from the public from 8 March 2025. Members of the public can make advance booking of the designated JPBs on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays from 15 March 2025 to 21 April 2024 through the "Joss Paper Burners Booking System for Columbarium" (https://app.fehd.gov.hk/jpbb/intro?lang=en_US) on the FEHD's website. The timeslots are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Members of public with advance booking should show the QR code in the SMS to the venue staff before entering to the "JPB Queuing Zone" on 1/F of the Columbarium at the reserved timeslot. Each mobile phone number can make only one booking on the same day and the booking is valid only at the reserved timeslot. The visitors are advised to cancel their booking if they could not turn up on the scheduled date and time.
ii) Obtaining Queue Ticket On-site
If no prior online booking has been made, JPBs users are required to obtain a same-day queue ticket on site from the ticketing machines installed on G/F and LG2/F of the Columbarium. Holders of a valid queue ticket with number being called should show the physical tickets (photocopies, screenshots or other means are not acceptable) to the venue staff before entering to the “JPB Queuing Zone” on 1/F of the Columbarium. All same-day queue tickets must be used within the designated time period, and overdue booking will not be entertained. Ticket holders can visit the FEHD website (https://app.fehd.gov.hk/newniche/QueueStatusCosan/QueueStatus.aspx?lang=en-GB) or the on-site display kiosks to check the real-time queueing ticket status. You may also click the following link for the details.
Take a Queue Ticket before Burning Paper Offerings (Only Traditional Chinese version is available)
iii) Burning Service of Joss Papers
For visitors without prior booking, queue tickets or unable to use the JPBs at the designated time period, they could put the paper offerings at the “Joss Paper Collection Area” on the 1/F. FEHD staff will assist to burn them on the same day. The service users do not need to wait on-site, allowing them to travel flexibly.
Burning of paper offerings and incense is a traditional culture in paying tribute to the deceased, however, it could emit various kinds of air pollutants which may be hazardous to human health and pollute the environment. FEHD encourages grave-sweepers to adopt more environmentally friendly ways to pay respects to their ancestors such as flowers instead of burning joss papers and incense. Paying a sincere and heartfelt tribute is the key of ancestor worship. Relatives can consider paying tribute to their ancestors by observing a moment of silence, expressing thoughts in writing, or offering flowers, as an alternative to joss paper burning. These will help preserve the cleanliness and serenity of the resting places.
To facilitate the public to pay respects and show condolences to their lost loved ones at any time, and from anywhere, FEHD also provides a free memorial website “memorial.gov.hk” (https://www.memorial.gov.hk) and its mobile app for the public.
For enquiries, please contact staff of Cape Collinson-San Ha Columbarium at 2817 6162 or 2515 3777.
Cemeteries and Crematoria Section
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
1 March 2025
