The barren mountains were transformed into terraced fields to create economic parks, but secretly they became "cemeteries" with rows of tombstones.
In Linzhou City, Henan Province, an agricultural ecological park with the name of "developing barren hills to stimulate the economy" will price the transferred land by square meters, divide it into areas for sale, and bury the dead.
On the eve of Qingming Festival, reporters from the Beijing News visited Linzhou, Weihui, Henan, and Yuncheng, Shanxi and found that some cemeteries were sold illegally, with prices ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of yuan per square meter, and even 0.5 square meters. Tombs are priced as high as 100,000 yuan, and in some public welfare cemeteries that are not allowed to be sold, there are also luxury cemeteries priced over one million yuan.
Mr. Ji, who has been in the business for more than 10 years and has been engaged in cemetery sales in many places in China, told the Beijing News reporter that for illegal cemeteries, the more sold, the more difficult it is for the civil affairs department to ban them, so illegal cemeteries often appear Cemeteries are sold through marketing models such as low prices and conference sales. “Now the chaos in cemeteries is getting better year by year, but there are still illegal or sidelined illegal operations behind the huge profits.”
Ecological Park hides a “black cemetery.” The Beijing News Investigation Team
Hidden “cemeteries” in the first and second phases of the ecological park
In Linzhou City, Henan Province, the 45-acre Jiulongshan Cemetery has complete procedures, but in the eyes of locals, this cemetery Gardens are not the first choice for burying the dead. Even the staff of the cemetery said that due to location factors and cremation requirements, "there is not much demand here." Since its establishment in 2015, the cemetery has sold more than 400 graves.
"This is the largest cemetery in Linzhou City ." Compared with the regular Jiulongshan Cemetery, the sales staff of Yixin Ecological Park, which does not have any approval procedures for cemetery construction and sales, said to the outside world.
On March 20, a reporter from the Beijing News came to the Yixin Ecological Park near Haoyuan Village, Longshan Street, Linzhou City. Entering the 062 Township Road, you can see the "Yixin Ecological Park Industrial Poverty Alleviation" standing on the roadside from a distance. Base" sign. The introduction of the
base shows: The park is one kilometer away from the South Third Ring Road of Linzhou City. It mainly lays out economic forests, planting walnuts, plums, etc. to drive the economy and beautify the barren mountains. The "Poverty Alleviation Base Awards and Supplements Notice" posted on the wall to the right of the ecological park gate shows that in 2018, the ecological park received an investment of 100,000 yuan from Anyang municipal finance.
Linzhou City Yixin Ecological Park illegally sold cemetery plots without obtaining any formalities. Photographed by Beijing News reporter Cheng Yalong
How can an ecological park be a cemetery? A reporter from the Beijing News entered the park to inquire. The person on duty at the gate introduced the reporter to a cemetery salesperson surnamed Li. Along the left side of the gate, a road about 2 meters wide goes up the mountain. On both sides of the road, you can see tombs with monuments and burials.
"This is the first phase of the project and has basically been sold out." The salesperson said that the second phase is currently being developed and sold. A reporter from the Beijing News noticed that the tombs in the first phase have been greened, and cypress trees and other plants have been planted. However, in the second phase, a large area of loess is exposed, and the newly planted cypress saplings are only about one meter high. There are also excavators to level the mountain into a stepped form. .
"The current price per square meter in the second phase is 868 yuan, which can be discounted." After hurriedly introducing it to reporters, the salesperson hurriedly greeted a customer who had chosen a location with a Feng Shui master. The customer needed to move a building due to demolition in the village. grave. The salesperson finally helped him designate a plot of more than 10 square meters for burying the coffin.
“Now we can close three or four orders a day on average.” A salesperson surnamed Li said that many places are currently being demolished and graves need to be moved. In addition, cremation is required at Jiulongshan Cemetery, so many people come to buy graves. “We are the only one in the cemetery. The requirement is that for the sake of the overall development of the mountain, monuments cannot be erected now. "
The illegal cemetery has become a large-scale cemetery known as "permanent use"
Yixin Ecological Park, claiming to have "permanent use rights". The
salesperson pointed to the clause in the "Cemetery Use Agreement" that "due to changes in the era and Party A's representative, this agreement will not be affected in any way." This means permanent use rights.
did not see any procedures related to the construction and operation of the cemetery hanging in the office of the park.An indoor exhibition board shows that Linzhou Zeyuan Forest and Fruit Theme Park (Yixin Ecological Park Phase II) has transformed more than 300 acres of barren hills and planted apples, cherries and other tree species to achieve a model that combines ecological planting with ecological picking. The aerial view of the
park shows that the park is divided into dried fruit production areas, fruit production areas, fine fruit picking areas, etc., but there is no word cemetery area.
The introduction of Yixin Ecological Park shows that the park lays out economic forests to drive the economy and beautify barren hills. Photographed by Beijing News reporter Cheng Yalong
Cemetery industry practitioners told the Beijing News reporter that commercial cemeteries require the final approval of the provincial civil affairs department and the issuance of a cemetery business license. Later, they can be added to the business scope of the business license. "Ashes interment, grave sales" and other words.
Qichacha shows that Yixin Ecological Park was established in 2012, and its business scope is: planting and breeding. Introduction to the WeChat public account and promotional page of Linzhou Yixin Ecological Park: This ecological park is guided by three-dimensional development and comprehensive utilization, and will eventually form an ecological model of "pine and cypress roofs, walnuts around the waist, and the deceased's eternal peace". Although
is selling tombs, the sales staff of Yixin Ecological Park said, "We can't call this a cemetery. We are opening an ecological park and it is done in this form."
is worried about whether it may be banned. The salesperson said that this place has been in operation for six or seven years, and the contract is signed and guaranteed. Secondly, a climate has been established here. "400 cemeteries have been sold, and it is the largest cemetery in Linzhou. Even decades later, "The government wants to build a park here, and our contract is valid, and it has to accommodate us. Besides, the government won't do it this way, because it can't afford to pay, and there are too many graves."
The promotional page of Linzhou Yixin Ecological Park shows that cemeteries are sold in the park. Photo by Beijing News reporter Cheng Yalong
Regarding the situation related to the cemetery in Yixin Ecological Park, on April 6, a staff member surnamed Ji from the Linzhou Civil Affairs Bureau Funeral Management Center told the Beijing News reporter that the leaders were out for a meeting. Sorry, she doesn't know the situation yet and will reply after the leader comes back.
Guo Mingyue, the person in charge of Linzhou Yunding Xixia Ecological Cemetery Co., Ltd., told the Beijing News reporter that as early as 2018, she reported the situation to the Linzhou Civil Affairs Bureau, but Yixin Ecological Park has not been punished in any way, and it still remains Continue to sell.
"We are a legal cemetery that has been approved by the Linzhou Municipal Government, Civil Affairs Department, and Land and Resources Department to operate. Due to various reasons, we are unable to operate. However, Yixin Ecological Park is an illegal cemetery without any procedures, but there is still no supervision. Public sale." Guo Mingyue said.
According to the Funeral Management Regulations: the construction of a cemetery must be reviewed and approved by the civil affairs department of the people's government at the county level and the people's government of the districted city and autonomous prefecture, and then reported to the civil affairs department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government for review and approval. Anyone who builds funeral and interment facilities without approval shall be banned by the civil affairs department in conjunction with the construction and land administration departments, ordered to be restored to the original state, the illegal income confiscated, and a fine of not less than 1 time but not more than 3 times the illegal income may be imposed.
Luxurious tombs appear in public welfare cemeteries. The price per square meter exceeds 10,000 yuan.
Compared with the problem of Linzhou City Xinyi Ecological Park turning into a "cemetery", Weihui City Taihang Cemetery, which is a public welfare cemetery, is very expensive. , the unit price per square meter often exceeds 10,000 yuan, and there are many luxury tombs and family tombs that exceed the standard.
The front door of Taihang Cemetery. Photographed by Beijing News reporter Cheng Yalong
The Taihang Cemetery in Taigongquan Town, Weihui City, is a public welfare cemetery approved by the town government in 2003.
"Taihang Cemetery is backed by Tan Mountain and faces Yu'an Mountain and Guanyin Mountain." A salesperson surnamed Li from the cemetery introduced, "Look at the mountain on the left in front, just like the county magistrate's desk. The mountain on the right, It's like an official seal. As the old saying goes: Holding the case with your hand, you can get tens of millions of tax dollars. Holding the case with your left hand and printing the palm of your right hand, you can hold power only if you have an official seal."
Looking up at the cemetery from the entrance, you can see the dark tombstones mixed in with the green cypress trees. , extending along the main road of the cemetery to the mountainside.The salesperson told reporters that customers can choose the location according to their own needs. The price is 10,000 yuan per square meter on both sides of the main road and 13,000 yuan per square meter around the Buddha statue standing on the mountainside. According to data from a large real estate platform, the average price of new homes in Weihui City is 6,700 yuan per square meter. When
followed the sales staff to purchase in the cemetery area, the reporter found that there were many luxurious cemeteries and family tombs that exceeded the standard. At the foot of the Buddha statue, there is a cemetery covering an area of about 20 square meters and paved with marble slabs, where only one deceased person is buried. On the north side of the Buddha statue, a cemetery of several hundred square meters separated by plants and marble fences is even more conspicuous.
"This is a family tomb. Look at the stone carvings of lions and elephants at the entrance of this cemetery. The lions and elephants guard the door, and there are groups of champions." The salesperson said that this was purchased by a boss. At first, he only purchased the current area. Half of the building was later expanded to a total area of about 300 square meters.
reporter observed that there are about 30 large and small tablets in the cemetery, but only about 10 of them have been engraved with words.
"Now let's build a luxurious tomb?" When questioned by reporters, the salesperson first said that it had been built before. Then when the reporter said that he also wanted to buy such a luxurious tomb, the salesperson said that "it can be built."
Taihang Cemetery in Weihui City is an approved public welfare cemetery. The cemetery not only sells tombs in violation of regulations, but also has over-standard tombs, luxurious family tombs, etc. Photographed by Beijing News reporter Cheng Yalong
During the visit to the cemetery, the reporter noticed that in addition to the deceased from Weihui, there were also deceased from , Xinxiang, , Hebi, Zhengzhou and other places buried in the cemetery. "Most of them are from Xinxiang, followed by Hebi and Zhengzhou." The salesperson said that due to factors such as transportation and environment, more outsiders come here to buy cemeteries.
Can public welfare cemeteries be sold? The salesperson said, "Our cemetery is a public welfare cemetery. It cannot be said to be for sale. Customers have to figure out the cost. However, we can only issue receipts, not invoices."
Another manager of the cemetery, surnamed Guo, was also concerned about the nature of the cemetery. Not shying away, a document he showed to reporters from the Taigongquan Town Government of Weihui City showed that the cemetery was approved by the town government in 2003 to build a public welfare cemetery on an area of 50 acres on a barren hillside southwest of Shentou Village. "At the beginning, 50 acres were approved, and now the second and third phases have been built, and new land has been approved." Manager Guo said that most farmers have private land at home and will not spend money to buy cemeteries here. They mainly sell them to Retired people in the city.
The contract of Taihang Cemetery. Photo by Beijing News reporter Cheng Yalong
A staff member of the Social Affairs Section of the Xinxiang Civil Affairs Bureau of Weihui City said that public welfare cemeteries are mainly for people from the township to be buried here. Even if they charge fees, they can only charge a small amount of management fees. .
On April 6, a staff member of the Funeral Management Center of Weihui Civil Affairs Bureau told a reporter from the Beijing News that Taihang Cemetery is indeed a public welfare cemetery. According to the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, public welfare cemeteries are not allowed to be used for business purposes. And cannot be sold to outsiders. Regarding the current sales situation of Taihang Cemetery, he suggested that reporters contact the leadership to report, but the reporter called the phone number he provided three times, but no one answered.
A Beijing News reporter visited Weihui City’s Xishan Ecological Garden Cemetery, Longjushan Cemetery, Xiling Fushou Garden, Longquan Cemetery and other commercial cemeteries and found that the selling price of Taihang Cemetery is comparable to the price of these commercial cemeteries.
In 2014, the General Office of the People's Government of Henan Province issued the "Notice on Issuing the Management Measures for Rural Public Welfare Cemeteries in Henan Province" which shows that rural public welfare cemeteries provide burial services for remains or ashes for local rural villagers (residents). Real-name registration of cemeteries is implemented, and graves are not allowed to be sold or provided to other persons. It is prohibited for any unit or individual to construct and contract for the operation of rural public welfare cemeteries for the purpose of profit.
Tomb sales contract turned into donation return agreement
In addition to ecological parks turning into "cemeteries" and public welfare cemeteries turning into for-profit cemeteries, there are also cemeteries that have not been approved for sale and are selling tombs in the name of donation returns.
In Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, a cemetery called "Tianxiu Cemetery" is for sale to the outside world.Corporate promotional materials show that the cemetery is located in Zhongtiao Mountain, 30 kilometers away from the city. The procedures are complete. The first phase covers an area of more than 300 acres and includes the Dexiao Garden, the Buddhist Saint Garden, the Nationality Garden, etc.
On March 29, a Beijing News reporter just entered the park. The salesperson at the door told the reporter, "The price of cemeteries ranges from 20,000 yuan to more than 100,000 yuan."
In the area immediately to the left of the park entrance, they are neatly arranged There are more than 200 tombs, each covering an area of 1.5 square meters. "This is the cheapest, including the cost of the monument, a total of more than 20,000 yuan." Continue along the main road of the park towards Zhongtiao Mountain, which is backed by the cemetery. As you walk, you can see rows of pines and cypresses on both sides of the road, followed by patches of tombstones. The unit price of tombs has gradually increased. At the foot of a Buddha statue in the deepest part of the cemetery, a single 0.5-square-meter tomb costs 100,000 yuan.
Tianxiu Cemetery in Yuncheng City, which has not obtained a cemetery operating license, has sold tens of thousands of tombs. Photo by Beijing News reporter Cheng Yalong
During the visit, the reporter inquired about many uninscribed tombstones in the park and learned that they had been sold. A salesperson said that Tianxiu Cemetery began construction and sales in 2007 and has sold about 30,000 graves and buried six to seven thousand people.
The person in charge of the cemetery, surnamed Zhang, said that the cemetery has complete procedures. A contract for purchasing a tomb can be signed and an invoice can be issued. The invoice that the other party finally showed to reporters was a receipt with an official seal. The cemetery sales contract becomes a property rights contract: Party B pays the merit donation, and Party A returns a cemetery as the subject matter.
A reporter from the Beijing News found that the sales party of Tianxiu Cemetery is Yuncheng Tianxiu Ecological Agriculture Development Group Co., Ltd., and its business scope does not include "tomb sales". So, is it true that the salesperson said the procedures are complete?
On March 30, a staff member of the Social Affairs Section of Yuncheng City Civil Affairs Bureau stated that Tianxiu Cemetery had only obtained the construction procedures allowed by the provincial civil affairs department, but had not approved its operation, and was asking it to complete relevant procedures.
When a reporter from the Beijing News said that it was still on sale, the staff member said, "This has nothing to do with you. You can buy a cemetery at a cemetery with complete procedures."
The "property rights contract" drafted by Tianxiu Cemetery is a disguised sale. cemetery. Photo by Beijing News reporter Cheng Yalong
Staff from the Social Affairs Office of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Civil Affairs confirmed to the Beijing News reporter that Tianxiu Cemetery cannot be sold to outsiders without obtaining operating procedures, and will report it to the local civil affairs department and order investigation and punishment.
The acute contradiction between supply and demand has led to chaos. Many places are promoting the construction of public welfare cemeteries.
In 2020, at the cemetery work exchange meeting of the China Funeral Association, Wang Jisheng, vice president of the China Funeral Association, once said that China is one of the most populous countries in the world. It is also one of the countries with the largest number of deaths, with nearly 10 million people dying every year, and this number is expected to double in the next twenty years.
Previously, Wang Jisheng said in an interview with CCTV News that there are more than 3,000 commercial cemeteries in our country, which is in sharp contrast to our country’s huge population. “For example, Australia has more than 20 million people, and the number of cemeteries is nearly 10,000. There are more than 200 million people in the United States, and the number of cemeteries is nearly 50,000. This number can reflect that in fact, the contradiction between supply and demand in China’s funeral industry is very prominent.”
In addition, the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ statistical bulletin. Data show that as of the end of 2019, there were 1,677 funeral homes across the country, with 5.227 million cremated remains, and the cremation rate was 52.4%, an increase of 1.9 percentage points from the previous year. Wang Jisheng said that using China's average annual death toll of nearly 10 million people and nearly 5 million cremations as the base number also reflects that the prominent contradiction between supply and demand has resulted in mass burials, chaotic funeral activities, and Industry profiteering and other phenomena.
Mr. Ji, who has been in the funeral industry for 15 years, is deeply aware of this phenomenon. He said that around 2007, when he first entered the industry, several bosses pooled millions of dollars to contract to build a cemetery on a barren mountain. Within two months, the company’s sales reached tens of millions, which was a huge profit. “At that time, ordinary white-collar workers The salary is only more than 1,000 yuan, but their cemetery sales staff can already receive commissions of tens of thousands of yuan."
Mr. Ji said that in the early stages of the construction of incomplete or illegal cemeteries, part of the cemetery is often sold quickly at low prices, through sales meetings, or in cooperation with urban villages that are being demolished. This way, there are more customers and more tombstones in the cemetery, making subsequent sales easier. Gain the trust of new customers. "When selling non-compliant cemeteries, our sales team can take away 75% of the commission,"
A person in charge of a commercial cemetery told the Beijing News reporter. The profits are mainly from tombs and monuments. Cemeteries are often located in barren mountains and wasteland, idle and remote areas that cannot be developed by local villages and towns. The land transfer price is low. “We contract for 500 yuan per mu per year, which is relatively high, and the greening price is relatively high. Later, a cemetery was built, and the price was calculated by square meters, which was indeed profitable."
In terms of stele stones, the person in charge of a stone factory in a certain place in Henan told a reporter from the Beijing News that the prices of stele stones vary depending on the stone material, carving and other craftsmanship. “Generally, it’s normal for a stone tablet that we sell for about 3,000 yuan to sell for more than 20,000 yuan in a cemetery. "
According to CCTV news reports, someone has calculated such an account. Generally, the cost of each mu of mountainous land is about 200,000 yuan, and at least 350 standard tombs can be built. Calculated based on the sales price of each tomb of 10,000 yuan, the sales per mu It can reach 3.5 million yuan. The cemetery is exempt from business tax, and the cost of the tomb stones and land is calculated at 500,000 yuan per mu. Excluding labor costs, the profits of the cemetery operators are more than 600%, which makes some people's profits. Ignore national regulations and operate cemeteries in violation of regulations.
In order to solve the problem of supply and demand conflicts, the Ministry of Civil Affairs formulated and implemented the "Urban Public Welfare Cemetery Construction Standards", which mentioned that for a long time, there has been a lack of urban public welfare cemeteries. It has brought some problems to society, such as urban for-profit cemeteries monopolizing the urban cemetery market and cemetery prices being inflated. Through the implementation of this standard, the construction of urban for-profit cemeteries can be further strengthened and standardized, and urban public welfare cemeteries can be guided to the public sector.
Mr. Ji said that in recent years, with the advancement of funeral reform and the intensification of crackdowns by the competent authorities, the chaos in the funeral industry has gradually improved.
According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Official website, in order to protect and improve people's livelihood, the national "13th Five-Year Plan" clearly includes basic funeral services in the list of basic public services for the first time, and supports the construction of funeral infrastructure from the national level. In order to speed up the planning and construction of rural public welfare burial (release) facilities, Nearly one-third of the country’s provinces have formulated and issued “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” for the development of funeral and interment services, including the construction of rural public welfare burial facilities. Jiangxi, Henan and other provinces have increased financial investment to comprehensively strengthen public welfare burials. The construction of facilities will create conditions to meet the needs of the masses for burials and control mass burials.
In 2019, the General Office of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and the General Office of the Provincial Government issued the "Henan Province Implementation Plan for Promoting Changing Customs and Promoting Civilized Funeral Practices", and issued a supporting document on strengthening the practice of civilized funerals. The notice on the construction and management of public welfare burial facilities requires that by 2021, each provincial city, county (city) should build at least one urban public welfare cemetery, and each town and town should build at least one exemplary rural public welfare cemetery, so as to realize the provincial Public welfare burial facilities are fully covered in municipalities, counties (cities), and towns.
Beijing News reporter Cheng Yalong
Editor Gan Hao
Proofreading Li Xiangling
Source: Beijing News
