Every spring, for centuries, pilgrims from all over China as well as the surrounding areas would come to Hangchow on pilgrimage. Today, five monasteries around the West Lake have been restored and pilgrims have once again come to the city in increasingly large numbers. Depending on the size of the group, there would be one or more group leaders who carried a pole with a red banner to identify their group. They took care of practical matters such as making arrangements for transportation and lodging. While most pilgrims were village women in their 50's, there were also some men, young people of both sexes, and less frequently, children.
Women pilgrims wore pieces of red cloth with their group names written in ink on their left arms.
They also wore distinctive head coverings which provided them with their regional identities. Those from Soochow covered their heads with towels, while those from other villages wore square kerchiefs of either green or deep blue. They carried yellow incense bags on their shoulders and wore incense belts around their waists. Red seals were stamped on the bags and belts indicating the monasteries they had visited. When they die, they would be dressed like this and be cremated together with the incense bags and belts.