A tearful goodbye to fallen members of cancer recovery club
About 300 members of the Shanghai Cancer Recovery Club bid farewell to 10 deceased members in a special, tearful group burial ceremony in Qingpu District today — just before Qingming Festival, which falls on Sunday.
These departed members had chosen eco-friendly burials, and were interred in a fan-shaped flowerbed with each biodegradable urn occupying only 0.05 square meters at Fushouyuan Cemetery.
There is a forest in the cemetery where more than 100 deceased members of the club have been buried.
A special concert was held by members of the club. In solemn music, they sang and recalled the lives of their deceased friends, applauding their optimistic spirit in fighting against cancer. They also laid flowers to pay respect to them.
"Through music, we expressed our sadness and grieving to our perished friends, which shows the utmost recognition of the value of their lives," said Yuan Zhengping, director of the club. "In our hearts, there is a melody of life. Our friends chose a green burial and wished to return to nature after death."
"Those 10 members of the club chose to promote eco-friendly burials in the last moments of their lives, and their spirit is worth respect," said Chen Beiqi, a cemetery employee.
It is estimated that the city's 54 cemeteries and columbaria will receive almost 4.5 million visits during a 10-day period of Qingming Festival's tomb-sweeping peak, bringing an extra 690,000 vehicles onto city streets, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.