MENGDING, China, April 7 -- Villager Zhang Laocheng and his family weren't able to return to their home in Myanmar's Kokang region for the Tomb Sweeping Day due to the continuous clashes between the government forces and the Kokang ethnic army.

Living close to China, Kokang people also observe Tomb Sweeping Day, or Qingming Festival, a traditional Chinese festival for honoring ancestors and the deceased.

But this year, Zhang and numerous Kokang people couldn't go back home to pay their respects to the deceased, as staying away from violence and maintaining their livelihood on foreign land became their top priority.

Large numbers of Kokang residents have been stranded in China's Yunnan province after fleeing across the border due to the heavy fighting that broke out in Zhang's hometown between government forces and a Kokang ethnic force named the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.

Zhang and his family fled to a relative's home in Zhenkang county, which is located in Yunnan province. They now earn 60 RMB (9.7 U.S. dollars) per day by helping local villagers with sugarcane cutting.

The family lost a whole year's income as their sugarcane land was burnt in war, Zhang said.

"We want to go home but we can't," said Zhang's wife, who started to weep as she heard Zhang talking about their situation.

An elderly Kokang resident called Su Laoying, who is staying at a temporary resettlement camp, said he couldn't go tomb sweeping this year because of the ongoing war.

Su would lose nearly 4845 U.S. dollars if he couldn't go back in time to harvest his sugarcane land.

Residents in a border village, where gunshots could occasionally be heard, said they are fearful of the clashes and had to cancel their tomb sweeping plans for Qingming Festival.

Many Kokang people have poured into Yunnan province since the outbreak of violence in February. At one point, a village in Yunnan's Zhenkang county received more than 4,000 Kokang people seeking help from relatives or friends. One family even received more than 80 Kokang people, as more than 10 women and children crowded into one tiny room.