Green burials: biodegradable urns, ashes in walls

Editor's note: The annual Qing Ming Festival comes April 5, and it's an important occasion for Chinese to honor their ancestors. Here we present some green burial methods that people choose for their late relatives. Chinese people used to bury the dead or their ashes in coffins beside their ancestors in cemetery plots, which has put a strain on the populous country's land resources. With sustainable development in mind, green burials, including scattering ashes at sea and scattering them near trees, are gaining more popularity.

Young soldiers perform burial duties for 280 biodegradable urns during a collective eco-friendly burial ceremony at a cemetery in North China's Tianjin municipality, July 20, 2010. [Photo/VCG]