Zhongyuan, the Ghost Festival中元節

What it is

Buddhists call it Yulanpen. An old note retells how Mulian rescued his mother from the world of hungry ghosts.

In Song Kaifeng paper clothes were sold and burned for the dead. In Qing Beijing children carried lotus leaf lanterns and sang in the street.

Coming dates

Worked out from the lunar calendar in China time.

1. 2026Thu 27 August
2. 2027Mon 16 August
3. 2028Sun 3 September
4. 2029Fri 24 August
5. 2030Tue 13 August