1 / 5   An old Chinese idiom says that fallen leaves return to their root. In China, when people pass away, the traditional burial practice is inhumation, where bodies of the deceased are stored in wooden coffins and buried in the land where they grew up. /VCG Photo

2 / 5   To family members of the deceased, carrying out a grand, dignified burial rite is significant, as it is the last chance they can show their filial piety to the elderly. /VCG Photo

3 / 5   In a traditional Chinese burial rite, the extended family would gather for the funeral, dress in mourning white clothes and perform a series of memorial rituals. /VCG Photo

4 / 5   In northwest China's Baoji City in Shaanxi Province, photographer Zhao Zhao has spent 10 years recording the traditional burial rituals and practices in his hometown. /VCG Photo

5 / 5   Given the limited land resources and decreasing rural population, more and more people have shifted to cremation and chosen to simplify the once complicated burial rite. Zhao fears the tradition might vanish in the near future. /VCG Photo