A Qingming ritual honoring King Qian Liu was held at Yijincheng Archaeological Site Park (the Qian King’s Mausoleum) in Lin’an in the morning of April 2. Nearly 500 descendants of the Qian family from around the world came together to pay tribute to their ancestor, Qian Liu, also known as King Wusu.

Honoring him during the Qingming festival has been a long-standing event here in Lin’an, the birthplace and final resting place of the king. In 2023, the “Qingming Ritual in Memory of King Qian” was named a provincial intangible cultural heritage. Qian Er, secretary-general of the Qian Liu Studies Association, hopes the ceremony will encourage more Qian descendants at home and abroad to return and trace their roots.

Lin’an has spent years taking the page from the old-time Wuyue’s playbook—grow the economy, look after the people, and keep things stable. It’s protected its natural landscape, built up its specialty industries, and kept that warm, everyday buzz you feel in a living city, all while getting serious about high-quality development. In a nutshell, the city has turned the “foundation of peace” from the ancestors into real, tangible power—making life better and the city stronger. On the cultural front, the city is pushing ahead with a major “one street, three zones” program, transforming itself into “a place with two major temples and three mausoleums.” The past year saw three standout achievements: the opening of Yijincheng Site Museum, the launch of a digital family-tree platform, and the smash-hit period drama “Age of Peace.”

Some Qian’s descendants, including scientists, scholars, artists, and entrepreneurs, were invited to a meeting for Lin’an’s future growth the day right before the event. They were appointed as advisors on the studies on Wuyue culture and the city’s high-quality development.

Qian Zhixin, honorary president of Wuxi Qian Liu Culture Research Association, is a professor and Ph.D supervisor at Nanjing University. In his remarks, he encouraged Lin’an to refine its environment for innovation and entrepreneurship. He suggested an AI capability center and a support system to talent development, creating what he calls “OPCs.”

On cultural heritage, renowned scholar Qian Wenzhong from Fudan University stressed the importance of the studies on Wuyue culture. He pointed out that, to truly understand the “rhyme of the Song,” one must first study the “style of the Tang,” and the Wuyue Kingdom served as a key bridge and turning point in the transition from Tang to Song aesthetics.