A total of 5.3 million Chinese visited 150 major cemeteries to honor their deceased relatives Sunday, the first day of the three-day holiday for the Tomb-Sweeping Day which falls on Tuesday.

The number of people visiting burial sites across the nation increased by 34.2 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA).

The cemeteries deployed 33,000 service staff, 76.6 percent more than a year earlier, to maintain order during heavy traffic, helping disperse 899,000 vehicles, up 43.5 percent year on year.

Tomb-Sweeping Day, or Qingming, falls early April, when Chinese people commemorate their deceased loved ones by visiting tombs and offering sacrifices.

Modern and more eco-friendly ways of honoring the deceased have emerged in recent years, such as “Internet tomb-sweeping” and sea-burials.

The ministry said no severe accidents were reported on the day.

One missing after Chinese fishing boat collides with Panama-registered cargo vessel

A fishing boat carrying 10 people sank off eastern China’s Fujian Province after colliding with a Panama-registered cargo vessel late Saturday, provincial marine authorities said Sunday.

The Panama vessel “KF PROSPERITY” was heading to Republic of Korea from Taiwan when the crash occurred around midnight Saturday near Kemen Port in the provincial capital of Fuzhou, said a statement issued by the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration.

The foreign vessel was requested to rescue the fishermen at the site. A helicopter and four other vessels, including two from Taiwan, joined the rescue Sunday morning.

As of Sunday noon, nine of the fishermen had been saved with one still missing.

The country’s first basketball team established to help autistic children boost their interpersonal skills and become more integrated with society was founded in Shanghai on World Autism Awareness Day on Sunday.

Twelve children ages 8 to 12 formed the first group of players on the team, and monthly training will be organized for them by the Shanghai-based Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, which set up the team.

All the players are boys and Wang Yi, vice-president of the hospital, explained the ratio of boys and girls suffering from autism spectrum disorder is roughly 4 to 1 and boys may be more inclined to sports activities, so their parents signed them up for the team.

China has more than 10 million children who have autism.

Their symptoms include differences and disabilities in areas including social communication skills, motor skills and sometimes intellectual skills as well as usual responses to sensory input, such as unusual sensitivity to sound and light, said Wang, one of the country’s leading experts in this field.

She said sports such as basketball, jogging and swimming, are widely acknowledged ways to help autistic children relieve negative emotions and boost their communication skills and self-confidence.

Liu Siyuan, a physical education teacher at a kindergarten in Shanghai, was appointed coach of the team because of his patience and kindness to children.

“I found that they’re interested in shooting hoops, but they can only stay focused for about 15 minutes.

“I hope the 12 children can form two small groups and play a game, with the assistance of volunteers, after exercising for some time,” Liu said after an hour’s training on Sunday.

The basketball team invites eligible autistic children around the country to join in.