Yan Zhen/Shanghai Daily news

About 500,000 locals went to graveyards around the city to pay homage to their ancestors over the weekend, two weeks ahead of the traditional Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Festival, Shanghai Daily reported.

The cemetery and funeral management division with the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau announced nearly 180,000 people joined the tomb-sweeping crowd on Saturday. The figure further rose to 323,000 people yesterday.