In recent years, the price of cemeteries in China has been rising, especially in some large cities, where the price of cemeteries has approached or even exceeded the price of the house. According to related reports, in 2022, the average sales price of cemeteries has exceeded the average sales price of residential commercial housing in some areas. The average sales unit price of Fushouyuan's operating tombs was about 117,900 yuan, an increase of 6.4% year-on-year. This phenomenon has attracted widespread attention and discussion.
The increase in the price of cemeteries is mainly due to the scarcity of land resources and the rapid development of urbanization. As the aging population of the Chinese population intensifies, the demand for cemeteries is also increasing, while the available land resources are limited, which has led to the continuous increase in the price of cemeteries. In addition, the lack of supply in the cemetery market due to the highly fragmented and largely controlled by state-owned units of the cemetery business has further pushed up prices.
Taking Beijing as an example, according to 2021 data, the average price of hot-selling cemeteries in Beijing's six districts and surrounding districts reached 75,000 yuan/square meter, while the average price of cemeteries in Tianjin also reached 26,000 yuan/square meter, higher than the housing price in Tianjin of 19,000 yuan/square meter in the same year. In addition, the price of cemeteries in Shanghai is as high as 15-240,000 yuan per square meter, and in some places it even reaches 760,000 yuan per square meter, far exceeding the housing price in downtown Shanghai.
The rise in the price of cemeteries has aroused widespread concern in society. On the one hand, the soaring price of cemeteries has put ordinary people under tremendous economic pressure. For many families, buying a cemetery has become a heavy burden. On the other hand, the rise in the price of cemeteries has also triggered calls for regulation and reform of the funeral industry. There are calls for the government to tighten regulation of the cemetery market to curb the rapid rise in prices, and to promote reforms in the funeral industry to improve transparency and fairness.
The increase in the price of cemeteries also reflects the multiple social and economic problems of China's urbanization. First of all, the scarcity of land resources is a prominent problem in China's urbanization process. With the rapid development of urbanization, land resources are becoming more and more strained, which has led to the continuous increase in the price of cemeteries. Second, the intensification of population aging has also had a profound impact on China's society and economy. As the elderly population increases, so does the demand for cemeteries, which further exacerbates the increase in cemetery prices. Finally, the marketization trend of the funeral industry is also one of the important reasons for the increase in the price of cemeteries. Under the market economy system, the cemetery has become a commodity, and its price is affected by the supply and demand of the market, and the lack of supply in the market has led to the continuous rise in the price of the cemetery.
In the face of skyrocketing prices for cemeteries, the government and all sectors of society should work together to find solutions to the problem. First, the government should strengthen the regulation of the cemetery market to curb the rapid rise in prices, and at the same time promote the reform of the funeral industry to improve the transparency and fairness of the industry. Secondly, all sectors of society should also pay attention to the deep-seated problems behind the rise in cemetery prices, such as the scarcity of land resources and the aging of the population, and solve these problems fundamentally through comprehensive policies. Finally, the public should also establish a correct concept of funeral, advocate green burial and ecological burial, and reduce the demand for cemeteries, so as to alleviate the pressure of cemeteries rising prices.
The skyrocketing price of cemeteries is a reflection of the multiple social and economic problems of China's urbanization. As these issues intensify, it is expected that cemetery prices may continue to rise in the future. Therefore, the government and all sectors of society should work together to strengthen the supervision of the cemetery market, promote the reform of the funeral industry, and pay attention to the deep-seated problems behind the rise in cemetery prices, and seek solutions to solve the problems in order to achieve sustainable social development.