On this day 13 years ago...

...Hong Kong was no longer under sovereignty from the United Kingdom and was handed over to the People's Republic of China.

Today is Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day. Quite a mouthful, isn't it? Basically, on July 1st 1997, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (or HKSAR) was established as it was returned to the People's Republic of China.

People often say to me "I thought Hong Kong was China." I usually reply with, "It isn't." It is a country on its own. You're probably wondering, "But how? You just said it was given back to China." In the same way, colonialism worked with the British and the Caribbean, and even the British and Hong Kong, a country remains a country on it's own. Or, at least, that's how I see it.

To be clear, when people think of China, they think of the People's Republic of China (PRC) because that is what China is portrayed to be...and that is exactly what China is. It's a country and a region on its own. Hong Kong is not a part of the PRC. And, hence, it isn't the same thing as China. The PRC has two special administrative regions: Macau and Hong Kong. They are a part of, yet separate from China. Get it? =)

At the Shanghai World Expo, you would find that Hong Kong and Macau have pavilions of their own as they are countries with cultures and practices of their own. But you would find that they also stand right beside the China pavilion as they are China's special administrative regions.

Get it now? =)

Ching Ming Festival

The Ching Ming Festival, as it is known in Hong Kong, is a public holiday that takes place on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox.

This is the day for families to remember and honour their ancestors. It's often known as Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day in English translation. Families visit and tend to the graves of their loved ones and pay their respect and well wishes. They clean the graves and place offerings of foods, drinks and, of course, incense.

This year, the Ching Ming Festival falls on April 5th. It's still the 4th where I am, but in Hong Kong it's currently the 5th. I don't believe I'll have much time to post about it tomorrow so I figured this would make a fairly good compromise.

I don't live there so I'm not accustomed to the usual things in Hong Kong. I learn of these things from my Mom. I remember visiting my grandfather's grave in China when I first travelled there. We cleaned the grave, placed our offerings and incense and prayed. I figure, this is basically all that happens on the day of the Ching Ming Festival. We weren't able to make it to China to do so on recent trip to Hong Kong, unfortunately.

How do you pay your respects to your ancestors?