Columbarium storage—can you accept this high-tech approach to funeral services?
Release Date:
2019-07-05
Author:
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Abstract
During the Qingming Festival, people bring a bouquet of fresh flowers and a few delicious dishes to pay their respects at the graves of loved ones. But what kind of new experience emerges when this traditional way of honoring the dead meets cutting-edge technology? At the Rui Xi Ecological Garden’s Ruyi Mausoleum in Jingshan, Yuhang, not only has the site achieved the concept of “a grave without a visible tomb,” but it has also pioneered the use of smart, high-tech equipment. This refreshing approach to memorial rites represents Hangzhou’s effort to create a model for comprehensive funeral‑service reform—a “Hangzhou example.” The cemetery itself is a place where graves are virtually invisible, nestled amidst lush tea gardens and verdant bamboo groves, with the fragrant aroma of tea wafting for miles. At Ruyi Mausoleum, one would never guess it was a burial ground; rather, it feels more like a leisure‑and‑tourism destination, complete with tea plantations…
During the Qingming Festival, bring a bouquet of fresh flowers and a few delicious dishes to your loved one’s grave to offer your heartfelt remembrance.
What kind of new experience will emerge when this traditional way of paying respects at the gravesite meets cutting-edge technology?
The Rui Xi Ecological Garden and Ruyi Mausoleum in Jingshan, Yuhang, not only achieves the goal of “a tomb without a visible grave,” but also introduces intelligent technology for the first time. This innovative approach to memorial rites represents Hangzhou’s effort to create a “Hangzhou model” for comprehensive funeral‑service reform.
Cemetery:
It is a tomb that is not seen, hidden amidst the tea gardens.
The bamboo groves are lush and verdant, and the fragrance of tea wafts for miles. At Ruyi Memorial Park, it’s hard to tell at first glance that this is a cemetery—it feels more like a leisure‑and‑tourism destination, complete with tea plantations, a bamboo museum, a Confucian academy, and a meditation hall.
What comes into view is the Jingshan Tea Garden, sprawling across 200 mu of land, where fresh buds have already begun to emerge from the tea branches. Amid this sea of emerald green lies “Xian’an Tea Retreat,” a pioneering, space‑saving burial site.
The tomb is concealed within the tea garden, so that the tomb itself remains unseen. “During construction, the entire tea field was preserved; rather than resorting to the conventional practice of clearing trees to build a tomb and then replanting greenery, we opted for small, artistic monuments that occupy minimal space.”
According to staff, there is also a unique innovation in the burial method: a custom-made stainless-steel trough has been designed, with turf planted directly inside. During both the initial and secondary interments, the trough can simply be lifted into place, allowing for seamless placement. By using turf instead of traditional burial lids, this approach not only expands the green space within the cemetery but also minimizes the footprint of each grave, ensuring that the combined area of a double plot does not exceed 0.29 square meters.
Family Memorial Hall:
Leverage electronic devices to enable resource sharing.
In ancient Confucian ethics, the concept of the family was deeply ingrained, and most households established their own family memorial halls. Here, leveraging electronic technologies and the principle of resource sharing, a time‑shared family memorial hall has been established.
In the small memorial hall, LCD screens mounted on the walls display family precepts, genealogical records, imperial honors, and images and recollections of ancestors, while accommodating 10 to 20 people for ancestral rites and remembrance ceremonies.
Users can access the facility simply by making a prior reservation, thereby maximizing resource sharing. This represents a national first.
Cremated Remains Storage:
Introduce an intelligent sorting system for the logistics industry.
In addition to the burial grounds, the memorial park also features an ossuary. Within its neo‑Chinese architecture inspired by the Tang and Song dynasties, the Changqing Hall serves as the columbarium building for storing cremated remains.
The three buildings are named Pine, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum. Together, they can accommodate 17,524 urns, and on the exterior there are 34 memorial niches, available in both Chinese and Western styles.
The memorial niches are all separated by wooden doors. On the memorial platform, there is an electronic audiovisual system that can play a slideshow of the deceased’s life story, and it also accommodates an electronic incense burner and floral offerings. With a prior reservation made via mobile phone, the urn will slowly rise. “Family members can come to pay their respects and share a few words; we provide both floor cushions and chairs, and each visit lasts about 15 to 20 minutes,” a staff member explained.
After the ceremony concludes, the urn is gently lowered once more. The next family waits briefly and then proceeds to pay their respects at the memorial niche.
The urn’s elevation and lowering are fully automated.
Here, it’s like a modern-day mega‑warehouse: rows of “shelves” are further divided into individual compartments, each holding an urn. With a few taps on your smartphone, a robotic arm retrieves the urn, places it on a conveyor belt that gently carries it forward, and finally lowers it beneath the memorial niche before lifting it back up. The entire process takes just two or three minutes.
The conveyor belt is divided into upper and lower layers: the upper layer transports materials, while the lower layer retrieves them, preventing any “traffic congestion.”
In fact, this principle is derived from intelligent sorting systems used in the logistics industry: a computer system linked to a mobile app allows family members to make reservations independently, while the equipment operates autonomously. The application of this system in the funeral services sector marks the first such implementation nationwide.
“More than 10,000 urns would require a vast expanse of land if stored in traditional burial plots. In contrast, smart columbarium niches can significantly increase storage capacity by compressing the available space, thereby enhancing utilization efficiency. In fact, the application of intelligent technologies represents one approach to eco‑friendly, space‑saving burial practices,” said an official from the civil affairs department.
Various accounts
Regarding this new type of funeral practice
What do you think?
As for this novel approach, the public has shown varying degrees of acceptance.
“It’s very smart and also quite ceremonial; for small families, I think it’s perfectly acceptable. Land is already scarce, and cemetery plots are expensive these days. This option—storing ashes for a year at just 20 yuan—offers excellent value.” Mr. Zhang, a local resident, said that times have changed, and he can live with it.
Of course, there are also dissenting voices. “Chinese people value peace in the earth; keeping ashes in a cemetery is like giving the deceased a home after death, and they should remain securely in one fixed place. Even if technological methods are employed, moving the urn back and forth still feels somewhat unsettling,” said Ms. Chen, a local resident.
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