Chinese authorities ban storing ashes in unoccupied flats, citing affordability issues with traditional cemetery plots.
The Chinese government has introduced a ban on storing cremated remains in empty residential properties, commonly referred to as 'bone ash apartments'. This measure targets the practice where families use these spaces as makeshift shrines due to the high cost of official cemetery plots.
Bone ash apartments are unoccupied high-rise flats that families convert into ritual halls for ashes. Chinese media reports indicate these properties are often marked by sealed windows and closed curtains, reflecting their non-residential use.
Reasons Behind the Ban
The ban stems from declining property prices in China, which have made empty apartments a cheaper alternative to cemetery spaces. Property values fell by 40% from 2021 to 2025, according to reports, making it more economical for mourners to store ashes at home rather than in formal burial sites.
Cemetery plots in China are limited and come with temporary leases renewable every 20 years. In Beijing's Changping Tianshou Cemetery, plots range from 10,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan, while standard tombstones start at 150,000 yuan, prices that many find prohibitive.
Funeral costs add to the burden, with a 2020 survey by British firm SunLife showing they can reach nearly half of China's average annual salary. The new legislation specifically prohibits using residential properties for ashes and restricts burials to designated cemeteries or legal ecological areas.
On social media platforms like Weibo, users have questioned the ban's enforcement and affordability of alternatives, with one commenter asking, 'Who would resort to this if cemetery plots were affordable?' Another raised concerns about how authorities would identify such apartments.
The ban coincides with preparations for the Qingming Festival, a time for grave-tending rituals. On Tuesday, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced new funeral industry rules to combat fraud and improve pricing transparency, aiming to ease financial pressures on families.