Ancestral worship plays a large part in Chinese culture with some towns and villages having their own ancestral halls where people can pray to deceased family members.

On 14th and 15th January 2011, a small mountainside village in Hong Kong’s New Territories held a two-day ceremony to invite the spirits of their ancestors into a newly built HK$6m ancestral hall which was funded by donations from families of villagers all over the world.

Over the course of the two-day event, more than 2,000 people descended upon Tai Po Mei from around the world to pay their respects and participate in the ceremonies. Almost all in attendance were part of the Lee family.

As one of the younger generation of village descendants living in the UK, I returned to Tai Po Mei to document this once in a lifetime event for current and future generations.

These and additional photographs from the ceremonies are available in hardback and ebook format for iOS devices.