sheng-wenqiang

The Hungry Dead and the Envoys of Hell: China’s Ghost Festival

Visual stories that get up close and personal with contemporary China. A mix of short videos, documentaries, photography, and data visualization.

MULTIMEDIA

Costumed parades in the street, spectral drawings, and religious ceremonies illustrate how the Chinese celebrate Ghost Festival.

Chinese Creepy Crawlies: Keeping the Pests of May at Bay

In Chinese folklore, scorpions, snakes, toads, geckos, and centipedes come out in May to harm humans, who have been trying to keep them at bay with herbs, clothing, and paper charms for centuries.

Heaven’s ATM: How Chinese People Have Been Sending Money to the Afterlife For Centuries

Believing money can solve anything — even in the afterlife — Chinese people are continuing the centuries-old practice of innovating new types of “ghost money” for the deceased.

Spirited Away: A Peek into the World of China’s Door Gods 

While the superstition isn’t widespread, the age-old tradition of hanging up door gods still endures during Lunar New Year.

Mary and Jesus in the Eyes of Chinese Painters

Since the late Ming dynasty, artists have been finding ways to depict the Virgin Mary and Jesus with Chinese painting techniques.