Society

City plans affordable public burial spaces

By Du Wenjuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-11-16 15:30

More non-profit and government-financed burial spaces are planned in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, according to a rule adopted by the city government on Monday, Cnhan.com reported Tuesday.

Besides government funds, corporations, civil groups, organizations and individuals are also encouraged to sponsor the construction of non-profit burial spaces, which will be prioritized by city planners.

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The need for affordable graveyards is seen just as urgent as that for affordable housing for locals. As the city's existing public graveyards are all commercial, local residents are facing mounting pressure from both surging prices and the scarcity of public burial areas.

To further control tomb prices in commercial graveyards, the city has ordered the construction of low-price ash walls and restricted the single space for every tomb in public burial places to no more than one square meter, the rule says.

The city government also said low-income residents will be subsidized in basic funeral services such as cremation, the placement of ashes and those who take "green interments", including so-called tree burials and ash-spreading.