A funeral home in China offered different prices for their cremation services based on the quality of the furnaces they used during the burial process, sparking controversy in China.
An unidentified man in Hebei province in northern China shared a video on December 19 exposing a local funeral home that designated separate queues for collecting ashes depending on whether they came from a high-end or low-end furnace.
“The area for collecting ashes from the low-end furnace is over there, and the high-end furnace is this way. Do we really need to differentiate between high-end and low-end even for cremation services?” He asked.
A funeral home staff member told Hou Lang Video: “Ordinary furnaces are simpler in structure, while high-end ones are more luxurious and tailored to specific needs of the relatives. Thus, we charge more.”
The employee added that the separate classification of cremation services are common across China: “For local residents, cremation in a low-grade furnace is free while non-residents are charged 250 yuan (US$35). High-grade furnace fees also vary, with non-residents paying 800 yuan (US$110) for cremation.”
An official from the district’s Bureau of Civil Affairs confirmed that the practice aligns with longstanding regulations.
Some low-grade furnaces might not fully cremate remains, potentially requiring families to crush the bones personally and even causing families to inadvertently collect the ashes of others.
One person online shared: “I heard that in lower-grade furnaces, to save time, several bodies are cremated together, and it’s hard to tell whether the ashes you get are actually from your family member. In high-grade furnaces, each body is cremated individually. After cremation, families are shown the complete skeleton before it’s boxed, starting from the feet up.”
However, this revelation has led to various reactions online.
One person commented: “Even in death, we can’t achieve equality?”
Another added: “Even on the way to paradise, there’s a different starting line. Truly, the rat race continues even in death!”