Shanghai's land shortage has prompted the municipal government
to offer a larger subsidy to promote sea burial.
Starting this year, Shanghai doubled its subsidy from 200 yuan
(US$25.80) to 400 yuan (US$51.70) to the family of anyone choosing
a sea burial, said Lu Chunling, director of the Shanghai Funeral
and Interment Administrative Office under the Shanghai Civil
Affairs Bureau. The subsidy started 16 years ago.
With a booming elderly population and 100,000 deaths each year,
Shanghai expects to run out of cemetery land in 10 years, according
to Lu.
To tackle the problem, the Shanghai government and cemetery
operators have been pushing more land-saving burials such as
small-plot burials and sea burials.
However, most people continue to favor spacious tombs.
Statistics show that only 7 percent of the families of the
deceased choose land-saving burials. And the percentage of sea
burials, though growing steadily, is only 1.6 percent.
Xu Guoxiang, director of the Sea Burial Department under
Shanghai Funeral and Interment Administrative Office, said that
Shanghai has seen a 10 percent increase in sea burials each year
since it began serving them in 1991. And since 2002, the Shanghai
government began to offer a 200 yuan subsidy to each sea
burial.
In 2000, 815 people were buried at sea and in 2006 the number
went up to 1,613 or 1.6 percent of the total deaths in the
year.
Group sea burials, in which many families arrange to spread the
ashes on the same day, are held several times a year in early April
when the Chinese tomb-sweeping day falls. Winter solstice, which
falls between December 21-23 in the lunar calendar, is also
popular.
Those two days are considered by Chinese as the best time to
bury or memorialize the deceased, according to Xu.
A site between Changxing and Hengsha islands on the northeast
side of Shanghai is designated by the State Oceanic Administration
for the burial.
"Their ashes are going to sink and rest under the sand and mud
as Chinese tradition believes that the peace of soul can be found
only under mud," Xu said. He also dispelled the concern that the
ashes would be swallowed by fish or shrimp.
"At the beginning, most families who came for sea burials were
highly educated and more influenced by Western culture. Now,
families of all walks of life are coming. Some of them like the
idea of being environmentally friendly and some want to save
money," he said.
The average price for a burial plot is 20,000 yuan (US$2,587).
And the cost for a sea burial is only 150 yuan for each person who
goes along to spread the ashes.
However, there are also families who rent a boat to spread the
ashes, which can cost 35,000 yuan (US$4,527).
In 2005, the family of the late Chinese writer Ba Jin spread his
remains in the sea, according to his wishes.
"As more open-minded families are choosing to bury their loved
ones under the sea, there are still many who hesitate to act
against tradition and as a result, the percentage of sea burials is
still low," Xu said.
"I've met some who registered for the sea burial and then
changed their mind later under the pressure," Xu said.
(China Daily April 3, 2007)