Sea burials increasing
(eastday.com)
Updated: 2004-04-26 08:56

Zhang Yanjun, 13, threw his father's ashes into the surging East China Sea, after saying "farewell" to him for the last time.

A man drops ashes of the deceased into the sea. [file photo]

He stood on the stern of the drifting ship with tears in his eyes.

"I know he will never be lonely," he said. "Since accompanied him are not only those delicate petals, but my and my mom's endless love."

Zhang's family was one of 284 families taking part in sea burial ceremonies over the weekend, the 68th and 69th such mass burials since they were introduced into the city of Shanghai in 1991.

Altogether 328 people found their final resting place in the seabed during the weekend, escorting them were 1,186 of their family members.

"It's really touching," said Xu Guoxiang, manager of Shanghai Feisi Sea Burial Service Agency, the only local company providing the service.

"You see so many people crying for their departed beloved. You see piles of flowers linking into two lines stretching to the distance on the sea, and you are aware that under each pile, there is what was once a vivid life."

In 2003, 1,254 people from 771 families were buried in the sea, rising from only 287 people from 247 families 13 years ago, according to Shanghai Feisi.

Though the number of people who choose sea burial rises by about 7 percent every year, it still accounts for less than 1 percent of all people buried in the city, Xu said.

"By being buried in the sea, we return to nature and leave our limited land resources to our offspring, so I hope more locals can choose it in the future," he said.

To encourage people to choose burial at sea, the local government offers each family a 150 yuan (US$18) subsidy to cover the charge of chartered buses and ships.

In addition, a sea burial memorial hall has been set up in Shanghai Binhai Guyuan Cemetery in Fengxian District, for relatives of the deceased to do regular mourning. People can chisel the names of the dead on a gravestone there, which is free of charge.

Xu said most of the families came to the ceremonies to carry out the will of the deceased.

"Otherwise, Chinese families seldom prefer the sea to the land, owing to a 1,000-year-old tradition and a fear that they may be misunderstood or even denounced by others," he added.

Zhang and his mother, Wu Haiying, are the few who chose the sea burial for the dead.

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