More subsidies for sea burials

SHANGHAI: The city's land shortage has prompted the municipal government to offer a larger subsidy to promote sea burial.

Starting this year, Shanghai doubled its subsidy from 200 yuan ($25.80) to 400 yuan ($51.70) to the family of anyone choosing a sea burial, said Lu Chunling, director of the Shanghai Funeral and Interment Administrative Office under the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau. The subsidy started 16 years ago.

With a booming elderly population and 100,000 deaths each year, Shanghai expects to run out of cemetery land in 10 years, according to Lu.