China wants expensive funerals dead and buried

In 2014, Beijing urged government officials to set the example with "simple and civilised funerals. Photo / 123RF

Even when six feet under, the Chinese just cannot escape the long arm of the state.

Elaborate private funerals, which can last for days, with chanting monks, dancing strippers and wailing mourners, are now banned in parts of Wenzhou, a southeastern city of 9 million.

Starting this week, wakes must be state-sanctioned, with families able to choose from luxury, mid-range or discount government funeral packages.

The number of floral wreaths are now capped at five, and a 24-hour funeral consulting service has been launched to offer help on all things death-related, such as body transport and storage.

The Chinese Government has long waged war on extravagant funerals, but it is tough in a place that takes the dead and dying very seriously - improper burial rites are thought to bring bad luck to the living. Tradition dictates tomb placement, and ceremonies last days, with families burning paper replicas of food, money, and even iPads, to ensure their loved ones a comfortable afterlife.

In 2014, Beijing urged government officials to set the example with "simple and civilised funerals", rather than using them "to show off wealth and connections".

In Wenzhou, a Petri dish for the Communist party's reforms, the pilot scheme is meant to help control the rising costs of funerals.

He Bing, a Chinese law professor, told state media, however, that there was no legal basis for the Wenzhou authorities to enforce the rules.

"Setting up a mourning stand and offering condolences at home is a private matter, and an individual right," he said.