China bans storing cremated remains in empty 'bone ash apartments'

bbc ^ | Ella Kipling

[BenLurkin]

The Chinese government is set to ban people from storing the cremated remains of their loved ones in empty apartments instead of paying for expensive cemetery plots.

The new law will put an end to "bone ash apartments", which have risen in popularity as spaces in cemeteries remain scarce.

Low property prices in the country mean that for many, it is more affordable to entomb the ashes of relatives in an empty apartment than pay for funeral costs.

The legislation prohibits the use of residential properties "specifically for the placement of ashes" as well as the burial of remains outside of cemeteries and areas where ecological burial is legal.

Bone ash apartments are empty properties which are turned into ritual halls by family members of the deceased. Their loved one's ashes are placed inside and the space turned into an ancestral shrine.

Mourners are making the most of low property prices, which have fallen in China in recent years and were down 40% in 2025 from 2021.

Meanwhile, cemetery spaces are limited and only come with a temporary lease which must be renewed every 20 years.

The price for a burial plot in Beijing's Changping Tianshou Cemetery ranges from around 10,000 yuan (£1,095) to 200,000 yuan (£21,917), according to its website. The cheaper options are "eco-friendly burial plots".

A standard tombstone plot starts at about 150,000 yuan (£16,400), with prices rising to 300,000 yuan (£32,841), which the website notes is "relatively high" in Beijing.

The price of funerals is also high. In 2020, funerals cost nearly half of the country's average annual salary, according to a survey by British insurance firm SunLife.

The ban comes days before the Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, where people tidy the graves of loved ones and make ritual offerings.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy
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[George from New England]

Nothing like monetary equivalents in non dollars

[BenLurkin]

I guess without the income side of the equation it doesn’t mean a lot anyway.

[marktwain]

Command economies have problems with allocating resources.

In the USA, over regulation creates similar problems, but there are more ways to find solutions.

[Reddy]

It’s the BBC so not really concerned they used pounds instead of dollar equivalents, but yeah.

[rlmorel]

There are most certainly a lot of empty apartments to stow them in:

[fredhead]

I remember a Rodney Dangerfield line from Caddyshack:

“Country clubs and cemeteries - biggest waste of prime real estate.”

My parents are buried near the coast of NC, where the family had been since the 1720’s.

My sister lives halfway across the state, and I live in the next state. I haven’t been home to visit the grave since Mom’s funeral.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Mourners are making the most of low property prices, which have fallen in China in recent years and were down 40% in 2025 from 2021. . . . . The price of funerals is also high. In 2020, funerals cost nearly half of the country's average annual salary . . . .

This is not on topic of the story, but tell me that China's economy is not in freefall. The government statistics are a lie. Their economy is in trouble. Trump is right to push them.

[dware]

Shoot, I keep mom on the shelf in the living room.

[Bon of Babble]

Are they allowed to scatter their loved ones’ ashes?

They could find a place equivalent to Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion - where human ashes are swept out every day.

“Human ashes are frequently found inside Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, where they are often swept out by custodial staff using specialized HEPA vacuums in a procedure known as a “HEPA cleanup.” This illegal and prohibited act occurs so regularly that it can shut down the attraction for hours, with ashes sometimes settling into ride mechanisms, fabric seats, and filtration systems.”