Illustrations of traditional Chinese ghosts and gods in Zhongyuan Festival by 画画的张旺. The last one is fan art pranking The Predator.
1~9: 延嗣，马面，狐仙，辟邪，大德，刑天，判官，牛头，夜叉，地藏王菩萨。
Zhongyuan festival/zhongyuan jie usually falls on the15th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar(August 15 in 2019). Zhongyuan festival aka the Ghost Festival is also called Half July (Lunar), Ullambana, which is closely related to Buddhism, and zhongyuan jie which is the Taoism saying and Folk Belief.
It is believed by the Chinese that the dead become ghosts roaming between Heaven and Earth unless they have descendants to care for them during the Ghost Festival. During this month, the gates of hell are thrown open to free the hungry ghosts who then wander to seek food on Earth. Some even think that the ghosts would seek revenge on those who had wronged them in their lives. However, more people remember their ancestors on this day. The Ghost Festival becomes a time for remembering the importance of filial piety. The reason why the Chinese celebrate this festival is to remember their dead family members and pay tribute to them. They also feel that offering food to the deceased appeases them and wards off bad luck. People now release river lights as an important activity during this time, since it is said that river light can comfort and warm the homeless ghosts. In some areas, visitors may also see small roadside fires, where believes burn paper money and other offerings to appease the restless spirits who have temporarily been released from Hades. However burning of paper money has been banned in cities because of the smog that pollutes the air. Instead, people offer sacrifices of flowers and fruits nowadays.
