With the city running out of space for its living, perhaps it’s no big surprise that we’re running out of space for our dead.
With an ageing population, people are dying at a faster rate than we can bury them, while graves are getting more and more expensive, reports the Financial Times.
In 2013 alone, 43,000 people died in Hong Kong.
Thousands of bodies are either “in limbo” or allowed to rest in peace for six short years before getting exhumed to make space for a new resident.
Ashes of those who opted for cremation are kept at the back of undertakers’ shops for HKD80 a month until a permanent spot is found, with the waiting time for columbarium niches now at four and half years.
Meanwhile, the government is considering doubling the cost of a burial to HKD6,670 to be able to recuperate the full cost of the service.
In response, Sage International, a funeral services group, has started to encourage Hongkongers to turn their loved one’s ashes into gemstones.
Dangling your dead relatives from your earlobes may be unconventional, but think of how great of a conversation starter it would be at dinner parties!
Photo: Bertrand DuPerrin via Flickr
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