Mythical Chinese ancestor Fuxi commemorated in Northwest China

A ceremony was held on Tuesday to commemorate Fuxi, a mythical ancestor of the Chinese nation, in the city of Tianshui, Northwest China's Gansu province.

After the drum beating and bell tolling, a eulogy was read during the ritual held at the Fuxi Temple.

Worshipping Fuxi is a tradition in China. In 2006, the annual ceremony commemorating Fuxi in Tianshui was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council.

A similar event also took place on the same day in Taiwan. It was the eighth year since 2014 that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan simultaneously held worshipping ceremonies for Fuxi.

Cheng Yi-lin, a woman from Taiwan who now lives in Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province, said it was her first time attending the ceremony.

"Commemorating Fuxi is a way to inherit our traditional culture. The joint commemoration will also strengthen the bonds between Chinese compatriots across the Taiwan Straits," said Cheng.

An online platform was also set up to facilitate people at home and abroad to worship Fuxi.

Unearthed millennia-old stone carvings depict Fuxi as half-human and half-snake. Tianshui is said to be Fuxi's birthplace.