Cemetery space grows scarce
April 30, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MINHANG is experiencing a shortage cemetery space, prompting local officials to encourage other options, such as sea burials of ashes.
There will be no land left for graveyards in the district in 10 years, based on an average death rate of nine per 1,000 people. The district had 1.81 million registered permanent residents and 746,100 migrants by the end of 2009.
The number of seniors 60 years and older living in Minhang stands at over 220,000.
There are four cemeteries in the district, and together they have less than 100 square meters of land left as grave burial plots.
The Tianguo Cemetery is almost out of land. In descending order of land left are the Zhuanqiao Cemetery, the Fulu Cemetery and the Xianhe Cemetery.
Grave burials are important in Chinese culture. Chinese people believe that burying urns with the ashes makes the souls of deceased relatives immortal. It is also a cherished way to honor the memory of loved ones.
About 98 percent of residents in Minhang choose small tombs of about half a square meter to bury urns of their deceased relatives.
Many people don't correlate size of plot with their boundless memories of loved ones, said Gu Xinmin, director of the Minhang funeral management division.
The Zhuanqiao Cemetery has put a lid of 333 square meters on the size of land it will sell for burial plots every year.
The district's funeral authorities are calling on people to bury the ashes of their ancestors at sea or under a tree or in wall urns. Incentives are offered.
Those who have permanent residency in Minhang receive a subsidy of 400 yuan (US$58) if they choose a non-cemetery plot burial. That's up from a previous 150 yuan.
"We are considering further raising the amount of subsidy as an encouragement," Gu said. A one-square-meter grave plot costs about 15,000 to 20,000 yuan on average in Minhang, while sea burial costs only 600 yuan.
There will be no land left for graveyards in the district in 10 years, based on an average death rate of nine per 1,000 people. The district had 1.81 million registered permanent residents and 746,100 migrants by the end of 2009.
The number of seniors 60 years and older living in Minhang stands at over 220,000.
There are four cemeteries in the district, and together they have less than 100 square meters of land left as grave burial plots.
The Tianguo Cemetery is almost out of land. In descending order of land left are the Zhuanqiao Cemetery, the Fulu Cemetery and the Xianhe Cemetery.
Grave burials are important in Chinese culture. Chinese people believe that burying urns with the ashes makes the souls of deceased relatives immortal. It is also a cherished way to honor the memory of loved ones.
About 98 percent of residents in Minhang choose small tombs of about half a square meter to bury urns of their deceased relatives.
Many people don't correlate size of plot with their boundless memories of loved ones, said Gu Xinmin, director of the Minhang funeral management division.
The Zhuanqiao Cemetery has put a lid of 333 square meters on the size of land it will sell for burial plots every year.
The district's funeral authorities are calling on people to bury the ashes of their ancestors at sea or under a tree or in wall urns. Incentives are offered.
Those who have permanent residency in Minhang receive a subsidy of 400 yuan (US$58) if they choose a non-cemetery plot burial. That's up from a previous 150 yuan.
"We are considering further raising the amount of subsidy as an encouragement," Gu said. A one-square-meter grave plot costs about 15,000 to 20,000 yuan on average in Minhang, while sea burial costs only 600 yuan.
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