The numbers of cemetery visiting people and vehicles are expected to hit record high during the Tomb-sweeping Festival this year, with estimated totals of 13 million and 2 million respectively.
9 cemeteries, including Dongjiao Cemetery in Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, Datong Cemetery in Ningbo, Hetou Cemetery in Fenghua, Taoyuan Cemetery in Wenzhou, Jiaxing City Cemetery, Fengshuling Cemetery in Huzhou, Qingling Cemetery in Zhoushan, and Quzhou No. 1 Cemetery, are on the list of observation points, where information such as the number of cemetery visitors and the traffic volumes is being monitored and surveyed.
According to the provincial Civil Affairs Department, the draft of the new funeral policies of the province is still under revision and in the process of soliciting opinions from financial departments and development and reform commissions. The basic funeral service fees (fees for body transport, refrigeration, cremation, and ash storage) are to be covered by financial departments, which are expected to amount to 0.
15 billion yuan in the whole province. Some more economically developed regions in the province have already taken the lead. From this year on, free funeral services will be provided for the bodies cremated in Haining and Yiwu, 1200 yuan per body being the upper limit, irrespective of the registered permanent residence.
In addition, the basic funeral service fees in Wenzhou will be covered by the government as of this month.