It is the cultural tradition of the Chinese nation to "worship the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan on March 3 of the lunar calendar every year", which has existed since ancient times and been carried on till today.

Every Chinese is concerned about the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. In order to do a good job in epidemic prevention and control while maintaining the continuity and inheritance of the Ancestor Worship Ceremony in Yellow Emperor Hometown, which has been listed among the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China, relevant departments have adjusted the worship forms for the Ancestor Worship Ceremony in 2020, that is, adopting the forms of "no guests, no audience, no group performance" but "keeping the customs and influence of the ceremony unchanged".

In addition to broadcasting on CCTV-4, Phoenix TV, APUS and other media to the world, the Organizing Committee will also launch a new interactive platform for online ancestor worship so that the Chinese at home and abroad can worship their ancestors via the Internet.

It is understood that the "Online Ancestor Worship and Blessing Interactive Platform for World Chinese" is under intense development and testing. It is planned to be launched in mid-March. The platform, with the theme of "Yangtze River and Yellow River Regions Unite to Fight Against COVID-2019, Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan Will Bless the Chinese Nation", aims to carry forward the traditional culture, strengthen the historical memory, construct the cultural identity and enhance the cohesion of the Chinese nation. It gives prominence to the transmission of the Chinese nation's concept of "having the same root, ancestor and origin" through successive generations. Through this platform, the Chinese at home and abroad can easily make their good wishes of "worshipping the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, praying for China and cheering for Wuhan" with their fingers.

The Ancestor Worship Ceremony in Yellow Emperor Hometown is a ceremony for the Chinese people to worship their ancestor — the Yellow Emperor in Xinzheng, Henan Province on March 3 of the lunar calendar. Since 2006 (the 23rd year of the ancient Chinese lunar calendar according to the Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Terrestrial Branches), it has been upgraded and the year 2020 will witness the 15th session of its celebration. All previous sessions of the Ancestor Worship Ceremony in Yellow Emperor Hometown have carried forward the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, recalled the merits of the grand ancestor, highlighted the theme of the Chinese nation's identity of sharing the same root and worshiping the same ancestor, and symbolized the connections of Chinese people which will pass on from generation to generation.

This year's "Online Ancestor Worship Ceremony in Yellow Emperor Hometown" focuses on online ancestor worship, organically combining the Yellow Emperor culture with the Yellow River culture in the whole process of the online worship and retaining nine ceremony procedures. How to proceed the "Online Ancestor Worship"? What about the innovative ways for worship? Let's experience a new way of ancestor worship.

Open the "Online Ancestor Worship and Blessing Interactive Platform for World Chinese". There are six functional modules on the interface including "Ancestor Worship", "World", "News", "Blessing", "Culture" and "Live Broadcast". After clicking the "Ancestor Worship" button, users can experience presenting flowers and lighting incense online to the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan.

If users enter the surname "Zhang" in the search field, golden leaves in the shape of the Chinese surname character will immediately appear on the page. The users can "Like" the surname group or write down blessings. When the blessings are submitted, it means that the leaves have been successfully added to the "Golden Tree" and that the blessings have been successfully completed.

The users will receive a virtual version of "Yellow Emperor Blessing Silk Scarf" after successfully adding leaves to the "Golden Tree". At this time, if users upload their photos to the platform, a photo tied with the yellow silk scarf and with blessing words such as "Cheering for Wuhan", "Praying for China" or "Long Live the Chinese Nation" will appear. After successfully save the photo, the users can share it on their WeChat Moments and cheer for China on WeChat.

VR Ancestor Worship and Ceremony Panoramic View Appreciation

On the home page of the interface, users can choose "VR" Ancestor Worship to enjoy the panorama of Xuanyuan Square where the Ancestor Worship Ceremony in Yellow Emperor Hometown is held in Xinzheng. Users will feel an atmosphere of ancestor worship on the screen and have a sense of being present on the scene.

Find Where You Are Via the "Worship Map"

When users click the "World" button on the lower right corner of the home page, a map of the world will come into view. The Chinese all over the world can light up the blessing sign for the region where they are living through this function. Eventually, all the signs will be gathered to form a Worship Map for World Chinese, radiating outward with Xinzheng as the center to light up the world. The larger number of Chinese, the brighter the screen will be.

Starting from the year 2020, the Ancestor Worship Ceremony in Yellow Emperor Hometown integrates the Yellow River civilization with the Yellow Emperor culture, with the latter being an important part of the Yellow River culture. The "Online Ancestor Worship and Blessing Interactive Platform for World Chinese" will integrate the origin and development of the Chinese culture, add and enrich more cultural connotations of the Yellow Emperor culture and the Yellow River culture, and enhance the cultural profoundness of the Ancestor Worship Ceremony.