Traditionally, the Chinese call Ghost Festival ""Chung-yuan" Festival". Taoists believe it is the birthday of "Yenlo Wang", the Demon King. In the first half of the 6th century AD it became a Buddhist festival. It has kept the same form since then. During the 20th century Republican and Communist governments saw this as a relic of the past. The People’s Republic of China did not allow public religious celebrations including ghost festivals. But reforms in the 1970s allowed these festivals to return. 