FAMILIES are being encouraged to help save space in increasingly crowded cemeteries by interring their deceased relatives together in tombs that can house up to eight urns, the Shanghai Funeral and Interment Association said yesterday.
上海市殡葬行业协会昨日表示，墓地越来越拥挤，因此鼓励各个家庭选择与其已故亲属合葬，一块墓地可安置八个骨灰盒，以节省空间。
Wang Hongjie, director of the association, said there are two cemeteries in the city that sell multi-burial tombs: the Zhuanqiaoqinyuan Cemetery in Minhang District and Guiyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District.
该协会会长王宏阶说道，上海市现有两所陵园在出售合葬墓：闵行区颛桥寝园公墓和青浦区归园公墓。
“The multi-burial trial started about five years ago, but was not well promoted,” he said.
他表示：“合葬墓兴起于五年前，但并未得到大力推广。”
To help raise public awareness, a set of guidelines for space-conserving and eco-friendly interments (biodegradable urns, burial at sea and tree burial) has been issued, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced yesterday.
为提高公众意识，民政部等昨日发布了《关于推行节地生态安葬的指导意见》（使用可降解骨灰盒、海葬和树葬等）。
Now that there are guidelines in place, the association plans to actively promote the modern approach to interment at cemeteries across the city, Wang said.
王宏阶表示，既然有了这个指导意见，该协会就会计划在全市积极推动现代殡葬模式。
“Multi-burial interment saves land and spares residents the inconvenience of rushing from one cemetery to another, usually located in the suburbs or even other provinces, during traditional tomb-sweeping days,” he told Shanghai Daily.
他对上海日报说道：“合葬会节省土地空间，避免居民在清明节时分，从一个墓地奔往另一个墓地的匆忙窘境。而这些墓地通常位于郊区，甚至是其他省份。”
Multiple burials and eco-burials account for nearly 30 percent of all interments now compared with just 19 percent five years ago, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
据上海市民政局统计，和五年前仅占19%相比，现在，合葬墓和生态墓占所有殡葬的30%。
Multi-urn interment sites at the two cemeteries are about one square meter in area — the same as the average single interment space — with two layers underground, providing room for a maximum of eight urns. They cost between 100,000 yuan (US$16,129) and 200,000 yuan and usually house three generations.
这两所陵园的合葬墓地大概占地一平方米，这与单独墓地的平均占地面积相同。合葬墓地分为地下两层，最多可容纳八个骨灰瓮。这类合葬墓地报价在十万元人民币（16129美元）到二十万元人民币不等，通常可以容纳下三代人。
“These graves are popular, with dozens of multi-burial tombs sold last year,” a Zhuanqiaoqinyuan Cemetery employee surnamed Tong told Shanghai Daily.
颛桥寝园公墓一位姓童的工作人员告诉我们，“这些墓地现在很流行，去年一年就卖出了许多合葬类型的墓地。”
But with high demand comes a decreasing amount of available space.
但是人们的大量需求使得剩下可用的空间不断减少。
“We are suffering from a severe shortage of land because the cemetery is small and is one of the closest cemeteries to downtown, thus we promote multi-burial to save land,” she said.
“我们面临严峻的土地短缺问题，因为可使用的墓地的面积非常有限，并且它是最靠近城市市中心的墓地之一，所以我们不得不推出合葬墓地这种类型以节约土地，” 她说道。
The cemetery is now forced to limit the number of tombs sold each year.
现在陵园方面不得不限制每年出售的墓地数量。
The manager of Fushouyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District, which is planning to establish online memorial halls that families can visit via their home computer, is also embracing the multi-burial concept.
福寿园的高层管理人员告诉我们，会根据新出台的指导意见设计一些家庭成员合葬的新产品，比如通过扫描合葬墓碑上的二维码获取所有家庭成员的信息，以及探访网上纪念馆。
“I think multi-burial of a family will become the main trend,” said Yi Hua, citing the closeness of families in Chinese culture.
“家庭成员合葬寄托了一种情怀，将来会成为一种趋势。”伊华举例说道，在中华文化中，家庭成员之间有着很深的亲密联系。
“We often hear people asking whether there are multi-burial tombs for a whole family as they believe family members will reunite in heaven,” Yi said.
伊华表示，“经常有人来咨询是否有适合整个家庭的墓地，因为他们相信过世的家庭成员会在天堂团聚”。
Echo Chen, a local bank employee, said she will consider multi-burial for herself and family.
陈女士是一家当地银行职员，她说她会为自己和家人考虑合葬墓地。
“I want to live with my parents and husband even after death, and I don’t care about the size of the tomb,” she said.
“即使在死后，我还是希望能跟我们父母和丈夫生活在一起，我是不会计较墓地的大小的，”她说道。
