Burial of ashes at sea offers a green option after death

Shanghai pays subsidies as traditional cemeteries become more scarce, costly

The general procedure for sea burials in Shanghai is simple: After a traditional funeral service onboard a ship, family members of the deceased are taken to the designated waters, where they scatter the cremation ashes of their loved one, along with flower petals. After that, they bow to the sea to bid farewell.

According to a report by the Shanghai Funeral Service Center, the ashes of 44,652 deceased residents in the city have been scattered through this dignified, simple service since the city started sea burials in 1991.