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Providing services from burial plot landscaping to funeral catering is a lucrative business. The industry was worth 93.5 billion yuan ($15.4 billion) last year, and is forecast to rise 10% annually for the next five years, according to Euromonitor.
Investors have already spotted the potential. Shares in Shanghai-based Fu Shou Yuan, China's largest death care provider, soared by as much as 66% when they began trading in Hong Kong late December.
Related story: The high cost of saying goodbye
The Chinese take the dead and dying very seriously -- improper rites are thought to bring bad luck to the living. Their customs are elaborate, and traditional beliefs dictate how everything should be done, from tomb location and body handling to the funeral procession.
Ceremonies, which can last for days, include burning offerings to ensure loved ones are comfortable in the afterlife. Sticks of incense, food and drink, fake money, iPads, Chanel handbags and even mansions go up in smoke.
And in a culture where social dignity is strongly valued, nobody wants to be perceived as cutting corners when paying their respects. In fact, some families even hire people to express grief around-the-clock -- the louder and longer the cries, the stronger the demonstration of filial piety.
Investors have already spotted the potential. Shares in Shanghai-based Fu Shou Yuan, China's largest death care provider, soared by as much as 66% when they began trading in Hong Kong late December.
Related story: The high cost of saying goodbye
The Chinese take the dead and dying very seriously -- improper rites are thought to bring bad luck to the living. Their customs are elaborate, and traditional beliefs dictate how everything should be done, from tomb location and body handling to the funeral procession.
Ceremonies, which can last for days, include burning offerings to ensure loved ones are comfortable in the afterlife. Sticks of incense, food and drink, fake money, iPads, Chanel handbags and even mansions go up in smoke.
And in a culture where social dignity is strongly valued, nobody wants to be perceived as cutting corners when paying their respects. In fact, some families even hire people to express grief around-the-clock -- the louder and longer the cries, the stronger the demonstration of filial piety.
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