A controversial suggestion from a Chinese internet user has ignited outrage on mainland social media. The user advised a friend to store his father’s ashes in a parcel locker to sidestep the high costs of professional storage. The post, shared on Weibo on July 18, detailed that the man couldn’t afford a cemetery burial and lacked space in his small home for the cremation urn, according to mainland media outlet The Cover.
The user, known as @zhuzaiyueliangshangdeningmengjing, wrote: “He followed my suggestion to leave the cremation urn in a Hive Box parcel locker. You can buy a membership for only 55 yuan (US$8) a year. They will not charge any other fees. Isn’t that quite a reasonable price?”
In China, purchasing a grave even in suburban areas of major cities like Beijing and Shanghai can cost at least 100,000 yuan (US$14,000). Traditional Chinese beliefs hold that souls find peace only when their remains are buried in soil. Due to these high costs, leaving ashes in a funeral home has become a popular alternative, costing only a few hundred yuan per year. The authorities have promoted unconventional burial methods such as scattering ashes at sea or burying them under a tree, but these have yet to gain widespread acceptance.
The post quickly caught attention, prompting a response from Hive Box, the leading delivery locker provider in China. The company stated that the suggestion was likely a rumor, emphasizing that their lockers are not permitted to store human or animal remains, including ashes. The cost of renting a locker ranges from 240 yuan (US$35) to 420 yuan per year, depending on the size.
Following the backlash, the internet user who made the suggestion shut down her Weibo account and apologized for the “misleading and vicious impact” of her post. The story has since sparked a wave of anger on mainland social media.
One Weibo user commented, “The woman who came up with this idea is so immoral. She did not consider the deceased person’s feelings nor the interests of neighbors living in the same community and using the parcel lockers.”
Another person expressed disdain for the man’s decision, stating, “This father is so wretched to have such a son who put his ashes in the delivery box, rather than a normal place to store.”
The incident has highlighted the ongoing struggle many face with the high costs of burial and the lengths to which some may go to find affordable solutions, sparking a broader conversation about burial practices and respect for the deceased in modern China.
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