Green funerals rise in Mother Nature's final embrace

Since the launch of sea burials in 1994, Beijing has laid nearly 40,000 residents to rest in the ocean, a Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau spokesperson said.

Yang Zhiwei said sea burials now account for 4 percent of the city's annual cremation services. "In the recent decade, we have seen a gradual rise in public acceptance and participation in sea burials," Yang said at a news conference a week before this year's Tomb Sweeping Day, which falls on Friday.

In 2017, Beijing expanded its ecological burial options by introducing natural burials. Municipal and district cemeteries have since promoted a number of personalized, land-saving green burials.