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Remembering the heroes Visitors pay tribute to the revolutionary martyrs at the Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province on April 1, 2024. The Qingming Festival, also known as "Tomb-Sweeping Festival," will fall on April 4. Photo: IC

The Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese festival that usually falls on April 4 or 5. One of the most important customs is to honor ancestors by cleaning their tombs, as well as paying respects to the deceased ones.

However, due to various reasons, some people may not have the chance to sweep the tombs of their loved ones in person. And 22-year-old Li Jie from Southwest China's Sichuan Province is here to help. Upon the requests of customers, she will bow to the tomb, play music that the deceased liked, or read letters. 

A male customer who has been living abroad asked Li to sweep the tombs of his parents. Li bought lilies, the mother's favorite flower, and his father's favorite brand of baijiu (liquor) as the customer required and laid them down on the grave. The customer later sent a message: "Even though I could only kowtow to my parents' grave across the screen of my phone, I truly appreciate your help in expressing my longing for my loved ones." 

Li's occupational choice, or the broader category related to death or funerals hasn't been as widely or socially accepted in China, especially among the older generation. Parents wouldn't consider it a decent job for their children, and tend to associate it with bad luck. 

However, in recent years, more and more young people have taken to the funeral industry. As this Qingming Festival approached, the topic "why more and more young people join the funeral industry" once again stirred up discussions on social media.  

The work environment and workplace relationships are less complicated and demanding compared to that of other professions. The industry has long existed and will last well into the foreseeable future. There is a notable demand for such professionals due to the scarcity of well-trained talents… Netizens shared their opinions with great interest.    

Giving life to death

Defying their own fear of death and biases from dated social values, many young people engage in professions such as funeral planning and funeral clothing modeling. They are driving the renewal of the industry with new perspectives and unique thinking while offering solace to customers mourning their loved ones.

Some choose to open online stores to sell funeral supplies such as urns, electronic incense, and candles. Different from the traditional products available on the market, their funeral supplies tend to be more appealing to the younger generation that could better express their feelings for their deceased ones. 

Others start live streaming the sale of funeral clothing. Unlike traditional monotonous and dull ones, Wei Li handpicks funeral clothing from a wide selection that comes in different styles such as Hanfu (a traditional style of dress of ethnic Han people), Tangzhuang (a type of traditional Chinese silk jackets), and Qipao (Cheongsam).

"Everyone prepares a beautiful piece of clothing for important occasions like birthdays and weddings. Similarly, a suitable outfit is needed at the end of life, which is a form of respect for life," Wei said. Allowing people to say goodbye to the world with more choices in terms of clothing is itself a very meaningful matter, she added.

These young people are gradually bringing changes to the ancient and traditional funeral industry. Some companies are utilizing digital technology to introduce concepts such as online memorial services and commemorative platforms, bringing more possibilities to the industry. 

Baiduren, a funeral service company in East China's Shanghai, has nearly 90 employees, who are aged between 23 and 45, and 90 percent of them hold the bachelor's degree. 

The company has developed a funeral service app for online obituary publication and the scheduling of memorial services, or funerals and death anniversary reminder.  

"We try to innovate within the traditional industry, and we have also launched a letter-writing app called 'Tangible Remembrance.' We hope to use this platform, which acts as an everlasting repository of messages, to hold on to people's emotions and memories for their lost loved ones," Jiaying in charge of the press at Baiduren told the Global Times.  

Shaping the future of the past

Regarding the reasons why employees entered the funeral industry, Jiaying revealed that more than half of them had experienced regretful farewells with lost relatives. "Regardless of whether the deceased passed away of old age or unexpectedly at a young age, we hope to help the customers give their loved one a perfect ending; a perfect goodbye," said Jiaying. 

Besides helping the family set up a mourning hall at home, prepare funeral baskets and banners, confirm the guest list, and host the memorial service, the company also created a "casket-laying" ceremony. At the funeral, family members will be guided to place the deceased's favorite flowers in the coffin or putting other items that carry memories depends on local customs. 

"In Shanghai, it's customary for relatives to put paper yuanbao (gold sycees) in the casket as a symbol of fortune in the other world for the deceased. We will guide the family members to fold the paper yuanbao and put them in the casket. By engaging in this act, they are accompanying the deceased through their final journey, ensuring the deceased does not feel alone. And the family members will feel a sense of involvement and consolation as they did something concrete for their loved one for the last time," said Jiaying. 

The company also established several death cafes in Shanghai, where people can gather to talk about the soul, philosophy, faith, and death, hoping this experience will make people cherish life more. 

"We aren't afraid of imitators or competitions. We would actually like to see and hope the younger generation could gradually bring more positive changes to the long-existing industry," said Jiaying.