Chinese banned from buying flats for dead relatives’ ashes
China has banned people from storing dead family members' ashes in empty high-rise flats.
The practice, known as "bone-ash apartments", has become increasingly popular in recent years as a rapidly ageing population – and growing death rate – leads to climbing costs of cemetery plots and columbariums.
However, regulations that came into force on Monday have banned the "use of residential dwellings specifically for the interment of ashes".
China's population is ageing at one of the fastest rates in history and outpacing the number of births, meaning the cost of funerals and grave plots has soared.
In 2020, the price of a funeral was almost half the country's average annual salary, according to a survey by the British insurance firm SunLife.
Meanwhile, apartment costs have dropped by almost 40 per cent in the past five years as consumer confidence remains low and a long-running property sector crisis lingers, making them a far more desirable investment to honour the dead.
In China, many people choose to keep family remains in a designated location outside the home where they can follow rituals to honour the dead. The "bone ash" apartments are used as a ritual hall instead of cemeteries.
They are often identifiable by sealed-off windows or closed curtains, according to Chinese media reports.
'Bone ash' apartments are used as a ritual hall instead of cemeteries - Feng Li/Getty Images
A resident quoted by the Communist Party-run Legal Daily newspaper described looking inside an apartment on his estate to see two candlesticks around a black box and a black-and-white portrait, a typical arrangement in China for commemorating the dead.
Last year, the number of deaths in China was 11.3 million, while the number of registered births was only 7.92 million. This is a striking contrast to a decade prior when the number of deaths was 9.8 million compared with 16.5 million births.
In China, funeral expenses are the second highest in the world at around 37,375 yuan (£4,100), about 86 per cent of the average per capita disposable income.
The cost of grave plots, especially in large cities, can be more than double that with prices as high as 100,000 yuan (£11,700) reported.
Residential properties also have the added benefit of carrying a 70-year usage, while cemetery plots only come with a 20-year lease.
Under the new law, the Chinese government is encouraging alternative and more environmentally-friendly funeral practices, especially for those living in big cities. This includes "ecological burials", where cremated remains are discarded at sea.
For several years now, local governments have offered compensation to those who choose to scatter their ashes or bury them in an ecological way.
However, for many in China, worshipping ancestors is a key part of the culture, and having a physical burial is crucial.
The new law comes into effect days before the Qingming – or tomb-sweeping – holiday, when people clean the grave sites of family members to honour the dead.
