Eco-burials take root in China's funeral industry

Funeral workers lead relatives of the diseased in a collective tree burial ceremony at Phoenix Mountain cemetery in Luoyang, Henan province, last month. - Photo: China Daily

BEIJING: In a quiet corner of Phoenix Mountain Ecological Cemetery in Luoyang, Henan province, a memorial ceremony was held in late March next to rows of white pines and golden osmanthus trees.

Beneath the trees lie the remains of 229 people, who were interred not in traditional tombs but in biodegradable urns designed to return to the earth.