Pingtan, an island county in Southeast China's Fujian province, spent Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, in a quieter fashion this year than in the past. Not a single forest fire was reported during the three-day holiday between April 4 and 6, said the county's official website.

By contrast, nearly one-third of last year's forest fires broke out during the span, most of which were caused by people burning paper money, which is a ritual practice to memorialize the deceased.

This year, fires from firecrackers and paper burning dropped drastically due to increased environment protection awareness in the county. More people chose to use flowers to pay tribute to the deceased, according to local forestry officials.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai