A dead-end problem? Beijing cemeteries in quagmire as 20-year leases on tombs run out

As millions of people across China visit relatives’ graves for the Ching Ming festival, cemeteries in Beijing are struggling to cope with a glut of untended tombs.

The cemeteries say they are facing problems implementing an “eco-burial” policy aimed at addressing the glut, partly due to unclear regulations and partly because of difficulties in reaching family members of the deceased.

More than 10 of the capital’s 33 cemeteries are experiencing problems with untended tombs, where rental leases have expired, figures from Beijing’s Civil Affairs Bureau show.

The problems emerged in 2013, when the first leases came up for renewal under rules Beijing introduced in 1992 stipulating a 20-year limit on tenancies. Contracts can be renewed once, for 10 years, but many relatives have failed to act, resulting in thousands of untended tombs.

Honouring the dead: Ching Ming Festival begins in Hong Kong

In October, Beijing launched an eco-burial policy to address the glut. Under the policy, untended tombs should be modified into smaller plots, but cemeteries say there are problems in doing so.