Eco-friendly funerals for senior citizens
Flowers are laid to bid farewell to senior citizens who had no family or were impoverished at an eco-friendly funeral at Fushouyuan Cemetery.
Visitors play the harmonica during an eco-friendly funeral at Fushouyuan Cemetery to honor senior citizens who left no family or were impoverished.
Senior citizens who had died without leaving family or who were impoverished were laid to rest at an eco-friendly funeral at Fushouyuan Cemetery on Friday.
Ahead of dongzhi, the winter solstice which is on December 22, services such as funerals, hospice care and help with wills were introduced at the city's charity supermarkets for people who had no spouses or children or who were in financial difficulties.
The cemetery in Qingpu District donated 20 services to the charity supermarket in the Xiayang subdistrict.
It was the first time such services had been introduced to the city's charity markets, which are non-profit stores helping the needy through donations and charity bazaars. Previously, the supermarkets mainly received donated items.
The group funeral at Fushouyuan was held with members of the Shanghai Cancer Recovery Club, civil affairs officials and volunteers.
Biodegradable urns were buried under trees, each taking up just 0.47 square meters of space.
The cemetery has held this type of service for 44 senior citizens so far.
Eco-friendly burials are being promoted in Shanghai to reduce the demand for land, said Shen Jiguo, deputy director of the Qingpu District Civil Affairs Bureau. Many cemeteries in the city face a shortage of land and have to put a limit on land use.
The winter solstice, like the Qingming Festival, is a time for Chinese people to pay respects to their ancestors.
