As the Qingming Festival approaches, the iPhone4 and iPad2 are now being made of paper and are available online to “allow the deceased to feel the progress of the society”.

Technology has been changing our lives, and may now bring enormous benefits to the deceased. The iPhone4 and iPad2 are now being made of paper and are available online for consumers who want to share the high-tech gadgets with their deceased relatives during the Qingming Festival, an opportunity for observants to remember and honor their ancestors at grave sites.

Traditionally, the young and old pray before their ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, joss paper accessories, and/or libations to the ancestors. With the rapid advancement of technology, people have begun to pay homage to the ancestors online by offering virtual flowers and Chinese liquors.

As the iPhone and iPad have introduced a digital craze around the world, especially in China, a country in which the consumers are getting much more brand-conscious, some cunning businessman decided to put paper iPhones and iPads on shelves to cater to the market trends of another life.

On Taobao.com, a giant online retail platform in China, paper iPhones and iPads have appeared and resemble the real ones. Also included are imitation chargers, earphones and even Apple wireless keyboards. A paper iPhone usually costs about 30 yuan ($5 US dollars); a paper iPad costs about 450 yuan ($75 dollars).

In addition, a yellow paper Lamborghini race car, marketed as High Imitation and Pure Handicraft, fetched up to 3,888 yuan, but no one has been seen buying the luxury one on the webpage.

Curiously enough, a consumer said in a comment that the digital accessories were used to “allow them (the deceased) to feel the progress of the society”, which sparked a heated debate on China’s Weibo.

User 米斯特尔喵 wrote:“#Paper iPhone becomes an offering for the Qingming Festival# The success of App inc, lies in its turning a phone into a public hysteria and an offering for the deceased.”

User 百晴114 wrote: “#Paper iPhone becomes an offering for the Qingming Festival# What? It is really anything goes now! Probably I have to burn a bank made of paper for the ancestors.”

User Adela 并非只有英文名 wrote: “#Paper iPhone becomes an offering for the Qingming Festival# I am afraid the ancestors may not be able to use these high-tech products.”

User love助藤新浠DOLA wrote：“#Paper iPhone becomes an offering for the Qingming Festival# It is better to duplicate the relatives of the deceased and bury them underground. The deceased need family bond, not any product.”

By Xu Xinlei