Shanghai has launched the country’s first public welfare project to store cremation crystals of the deceased as part of the city’s effort to promote environmentally friendly burials.

The first batch of cremation crystals made from the ashes of 16 deceased people was stored in a building at Huilongyuan cemetery in Pudong New Area on Nov 20. Cremation crystals manufactured in local funeral homes in the city can be preserved in the building for 20 years, free of charge.

Cremation crystals are jewelry keepsakes made using the ashes of the deceased through crystallization at high temperature. A single person’s ashes can be turned into about 100 crystals. Crystals vary in appearance and size depending on a person’s lifestyle and habits.

The volume of crystals produced is significantly lesser than the ashes, meaning that much less space is required to store them. The crystals can also be customized and turned into keepsakes like brooches and pendants.

Though the building at Huilongyuan cemetery is only 50 square meters in size, it can store the cremation crystals of 8,000 people.

“By transforming ashes into crystals, we can reduce the use of land for storing urns containing ashes by 80 percent,” said Ding Guojun, manager of the cemetery.

Despite its popularity in the West, cremation jewelry remains a relatively new concept in China. Shanghai started to promote cremation jewelry as a way for people to pay tribute to deceased family members in 2016, the year crystallization technology was introduced to the city.

The Shanghai Funeral Service Center can create a single crystal from a deceased person’s ashes as long as the person’s family members agree not to visit the grave during peak seasons. This move is part of measures to reduce traffic jams and fire hazards – people often burn incense and paper money – during occasions such as Qingming Festival, also called Tomb Sweeping Day.

This service is currently provided by the center’s seven subordinate cemeteries, including Shanghai Seaside Cemetery and Shanghai West Xujing Cemetery.