Rents are rising for the departed in Beijing. Living in China's capital city may be more affordable than being buried there, according to a new report.
Getting a plot in one of Beijing's more popular cemeteries can cost as much as $60,000 to $70,000 per square meter, TIME magazine reported, citing state-run newspaper Legal Weekly. What's more, Beijing's famous Babaoshan Cemetery charges the dead $165,000 for entry.
In comparison, a single grave site, which holds up to three burials, at the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, N.Y., costs between $12,000 and $14,000.
China outlawed burials to conserve much-needed space in the country’s crowded metropolises. Chinese residents must settle for a plot to inter ashes, but even the costs of those plots have increased by more than 30% a year, according to Legal Weekly.
Beijing’s hefty bill for resting in (debatable) peace reflects China’s limited space and large population. The country’s population grew less than 1% in 2013, but still increased by 6.68 million to a total of 1.36 billion people, retaining its position as the world’s most populated country, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China.
The Chinese population could surge much more in 2014 and beyond after the government eased its one-child policy last month. Under the amended law, if one parent grew up as an only child, the couple may have two children.
For now, Chinese authorities are combating the costs of death by looking east — to the ocean. The municipal government in Shanghai began offering families subsidies of 1,000 yuan ($165) last year if they buried their loved ones at sea, according to state-run newspaper China Daily.
Perhaps in an acknowledgement of citizens' hefty burial expenses, China’s ruling Communist Party announced a ban last month on lavish funerals for its members, according to The Guardian. Critics of the funerals — held to show a politician’s affluence and influence —said the events were used to accept bribes.
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