Electronic map being created for cemetery of Confucius' family

An electronic map for the 200-hectare cemetery of the family of Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher, is being created to help descendants find the tombs of their ancestors.

Also called Kong Lin in Chinese, the cemetery is located in Confucius' hometown of Qufu City, Shandong Province. The electronic map is expected to be completed by the middle of this year, local authorities said Tuesday.

The site is home to about 100,000 tombs, which contain over 70 generations of descendants of Confucius, China's most influential philosopher.

The huge number of tombs are faced with fire hazards during Tomb Sweeping Day every April when people burn paper to commemorate their ancestors, according to the municipal cultural heritage administration.

Kong Xianghai, a 75th-generation descendant of Confucius, donated 500,000 yuan (81,301 U.S. dollars) to create an electronic map of the cemetery showing roads, rivers, pipelines, fire-fighting facilities, tourist sites, buildings, tombs, ancient trees and stone tablets, said Kong Deming, head of the Kong Lin funeral administration office.

The system will also record the personal information of those buried in the tombs and their descendants, who will be able to swipe their identity cards at the entrance to find out the exact location of their ancestors' tombs, said Kong.

Kong Lin is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu." Endi