Grave business: undertakers vie for title of China’s most skilled handler of the dead
The best professionals in the funeral industry must be adept at comforting family members and showing respect for the deceased
The mainland has wrapped up its first national competition for undertakers, with dozens of professional from the cremation business gathering in Beijing to test their skills, state media has reported.
While the outcome wasn’t a life or death issue, the stakes were still high – the winner gets a chance at one of the most prestigious medals for workers in the country, Xinhua said.
According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which organised the competition, the most important requisites for the job were to show respect for the deceased and give comfort to relatives.
They should receive “ivory white ashes without any impurities”, a government representative was quoted as saying.
The National Cremation Skills Competition drew 54 industry professionals, who were assessed on their practical skills and grasp of theory.
Top honours went to Wei Tong and Wang Yuanyuan from Beijing’s Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, and Wei Zhongshan from Jiangxi province’s Nanchang Funeral Management office.
They are among the roughly 83,000 people working in the mainland’s funeral industry in a range of areas, including transporting the dead, makeup artists for the deceased, crematorium operators and graveyard security guards.
The competition, which ran from December 24 to Monday, was part of the fifth national occupational skill testing of civil affairs. The overall winner can apply for the National May 1st Labour Medal, presented by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.
