Funerals in China cost so much money that Beijing is encouraging digital cemeteries

• Beijing is encouraging digital burials instead of traditional ones, Bloomberg reported.
• The push comes as urban land becomes increasingly scarce and expensive.
• People in China spend more than 45% of their annual salary on funerals, according to a report by SunLife.

When someone dies in China these days they’re typically cremated, but land burials still play an important role in death rites. Rapid urbanization and a huge, aging population, however, have made outdoor burial plots scarce, and pricey.

To solve the problem, Beijing has started encouraging people to grieve their loved ones in digital funeral spaces instead of traditional burial sites, according to a recent report from Bloomberg. The State Council said that by 2035, Beijing will try to reduce the amount of land public cemeteries occupy by 70%.