New burial rules aim to keep forests clear

In Laoshan Mountain area, land was purchased from officials, report says

The civil affairs bureau in the Laoshan district of Qingdao, Shandong province, will reconstruct tombs on Laoshan Mountain and punish those who are found illegally buying or selling burial spaces, Wang Shaomei, director of the bureau, said on Saturday.

"We will continue to encourage people, as we have done in past years, to place the ashes of their loved ones in memorial halls rather than tombs," Wang said. "For people who insist on constructing tombs, we will transform them into garden-like cemeteries by planting trees and replacing upright stone slabs with stones that lie down.