Celebrating Mexico’s Day of the Dead in China

"After visiting so many carnivals and festivals around the world, I would call the Day of the Dead the most fun of them," raved travel blogger JOJO Dainiyoushijie in his 2017 travelogue on Mafengwo, a Beijing-based travel platform.

The blogger's vivid, photo-heavy recount of his Day of the Dead experiences in Mexico City garnered nearly 130,000 hits and thousands of comments. Many expressed an interest in visiting Mexico to experience this unique tradition that's so much different from China's traditions about death.

The Coco effect has also inspired some Chinese travel agencies to organize trips to the Latin American country around the Day of the Dead holiday. For instance, 6renyou, a Beijing-based travel agency, arranges a 12-day trip to Mexico every year around the holiday.

In 2008, UNESCO recognized the significance of the Day of the Dead by adding this Mexican tradition to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

To catch the film screenings at the CHAO Art Center, registration is required through the center's official WeChat account.

Screening times: Oct 31 (16:40-17:30); Nov 1 (11:00-11:50; 13:30-14:30)

If you go: free entry; Oct 31-Nov 1; CHAO 1F Plaza, No. 4 Workers' Stadium East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing. 北京市朝陽區(qū)工人體育場(chǎng)東路4號(hào)CHAO 藝術(shù)中心