Nan County’s funeral reform enhances the “final garden of life”
Release Date:
2019-07-16
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Abstract
Newly paved cement roads stretch clean and tidy, rows of lush osmanthus trees sway gently in the breeze, and marble tombs stand solemn and dignified… On July 8, at the Yugge Ecological Cemetery in Huage Town, Nan County, a white flower and a black mourning ribbon, presided over by village officials, marked a funeral that was simple yet dignified, minimalist yet deeply moving. Just one row away from the cemetery lies the former burial ground; everyone knows which environment is better and which method of interment is more civilized. Focused on building a funeral system that benefits the people, is environmentally friendly, and promotes cultural civility, Nan County has comprehensively advanced cremation, rectified scattered and disorderly burials, and worked to address the “bottlenecks” and persistent problems that have long hindered the development of rural civility at the grassroots level.
Newly paved cement roads stretch clean and tidy, rows of lush osmanthus trees sway gently in the breeze, and marble tombs stand solemn and dignified… On July 8, at the Yugge Ecological Cemetery in Huage Town, Nan County, a white flower and a black mourning ribbon, presided over by village officials, marked a funeral that was simple yet dignified—unadorned but deeply moving. Just one row away from the cemetery lies the former burial ground; everyone knows which environment is better and which method of interment is more civilized. Centering on building a funeral system that benefits the people, is green, and promotes civility, Nan County has comprehensively advanced cremation, rectified scattered and haphazard burials, and worked to address the “bottlenecks” and persistent problems that have long hindered the development of rural cultural norms at the grassroots level. Today, all 12 townships in the county have established ecological public cemeteries; this year, 106 individuals have been laid to rest using space‑saving, eco‑friendly methods. A funeral reform that shares a “backyard garden for life” has become the dominant theme of posthumous arrangements in Nan County’s rural areas.
In recent years, to ensure that the funeral service sector better serves to safeguard and improve people’s livelihoods and to promote both spiritual and ecological civilization, Nan County has continuously refined its working mechanisms. It established a county-level leading group for funeral reform, incorporated funeral reform into the county’s performance appraisal system, extended the reform from the county seat to townships and towns, and further improved its management framework. As a result, the county has developed an effective working model characterized by government leadership, interdepartmental collaboration, coordinated efforts across all levels, and active public participation. At the same time, Nan County has consistently implemented four basic policies aimed at benefiting the people through funeral services, ensuring tangible benefits. Through government subsidies, it has waived basic funeral service fees for vulnerable groups; over the past three years, it has provided fee reductions or exemptions totaling 1.534 million yuan for impoverished urban and rural residents. Moreover, through public awareness campaigns, policy guidance, and exemplary conduct by Party members and cadres, solemn, simple, civilized, eco‑friendly, and frugal modern funeral practices have gradually gained public understanding and acceptance. Consequently, the voluntary cremation rate among rural residents has risen year after year, and civilized mourning and memorial rites have become a prevailing social norm.
To advance funeral‑service reform, it is essential to strengthen infrastructure. Nan County has proactively mobilized funding, investing over 100 million yuan to build a new funeral home spanning 164 mu, with 6,000 niches for ash storage. The facility is fully equipped with eco‑friendly burial options, including tree burials, flower burials, and wall‑niches, laying the groundwork for achieving 100% cremation of remains. Meanwhile, across the county’s 12 townships, following an approach that emphasizes pilot projects, demonstration‑driven guidance, and comprehensive rollout, site selection, approval, planning, and construction of rural public cemeteries were completed in a remarkably short period; all such facilities are now fully operational.
“The Huage Town Public Ecological Cemetery was built on the site of the former burial grounds, with dedicated personnel dispatched by the town to carry out landscaping and beautification. Once completed, it will conserve more than 200 mu of arable land and meet the funeral‑related needs of over ten nearby villages for the next 30 years. While promoting land‑saving, eco‑friendly practices and fostering a shift in traditional customs, it has also eased the financial burden on local residents,” Chen Chu, deputy director of the Nan County Civil Affairs Bureau, told reporters. He added that, as funeral‑reform efforts deepen, public acceptance and satisfaction with public cemeteries across Nan County have been steadily rising.
This year, Nan County launched the “Midnight Operation,” mandating that, effective midnight on January 1, 2020, all deceased residents—urban and rural—must be cremated. To ensure the initiative’s successful implementation, the county has made public outreach on funeral‑related laws and policies a key pillar of its funeral reform efforts. Centered on the theme of “eliminating outdated burial customs and fostering a new culture of civility,” the county has leveraged television, the internet, bulletin boards, electronic displays, and other media to disseminate information. During prime time, the county TV station has continuously broadcast updates on the countywide concentrated campaign to improve funeral practices, along with promotional documentaries and slogans. In urban areas and across all townships, mobile outreach teams have been conducting door-to-door campaigns to explain the Regulations and Measures on Funeral Management and the detailed implementation plan for the campaign. More than 4,000 notices issued by the county government on strengthening funeral management have been posted in both urban and rural communities, and over 50,000 copies of educational materials on funeral laws and regulations have been distributed. Additionally, 62 banners and 34 permanent signs have been produced and displayed, ensuring that the funeral reform policies are widely known throughout the population. This year, Nan County has completed the cremation of 1,472 remains, raising the cremation rate by 20 percentage points compared with previous years, with a 100% cremation rate among urban residents.
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