Multi-burial on rise as crowded cemeteries seek to save space
Print Edition
FAMILIES are being encouraged to help save space in increasingly crowded cemeteries by interring their deceased relatives together in tombs that can house up to eight urns, the Shanghai Funeral and Interment Association said yesterday.
Wang Hongjie, director of the association, said there are two cemeteries in the city that sell multi-burial tombs: the Zhuanqiaoqinyuan Cemetery in Minhang District and Guiyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District.
“The multi-burial trial started about five years ago, but was not well promoted,” he said.
To help raise public awareness, a set of guidelines for space-conserving and eco-friendly interments (biodegradable urns, burial at sea and tree burial) has been issued, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced yesterday.
Now that there are guidelines in place, the association plans to actively promote the modern approach to interment at cemeteries across the city, Wang said.
“Multi-burial interment saves land and spares residents the inconvenience of rushing from one cemetery to another, usually located in the suburbs or even other provinces, during traditional tomb-sweeping days,” he told Shanghai Daily.
Multiple burials and eco-burials account for nearly 30 percent of all interments now compared with just 19 percent five years ago, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
Multi-urn interment sites at the two cemeteries are about one square meter in area — the same as the average single interment space — with two layers underground, providing room for a maximum of eight urns. They cost between 100,000 yuan (US$16,129) and 200,000 yuan and usually house three generations.
“These graves are popular, with dozens of multi-burial tombs sold last year,” a Zhuanqiaoqinyuan Cemetery employee surnamed Tong told Shanghai Daily.
But with high demand comes a decreasing amount of available space.
“We are suffering from a severe shortage of land because the cemetery is small and is one of the closest cemeteries to downtown, thus we promote multi-burial to save land,” she said.
The cemetery is now forced to limit the number of tombs sold each year.
The manager of Fushouyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District, which is planning to establish online memorial halls that families can visit via their home computer, is also embracing the multi-burial concept.
“I think multi-burial of a family will become the main trend,” said Yi Hua, citing the closeness of families in Chinese culture.
“We often hear people asking whether there are multi-burial tombs for a whole family as they believe family members will reunite in heaven,” Yi said.
Echo Chen, a local bank employee, said she will consider multi-burial for herself and family.
“I want to live with my parents and husband even after death, and I don’t care about the size of the tomb,” she said.
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