Young Chinese Reserve Burial Plots in Advance as Graves Cost More Than High-End Property

A boy stands between graves during the annual Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, at a public cemetery in Shanghai on April 6, 2015. Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

China’s cemetery real estate industry has become more lucrative than its residential property market. The phenomenon has led many young people to preorder burial plots to cope with the soaring prices.

Due to the high demand for burial plots, the price per square meter of some plots in Shanghai is already much higher than residential property in its city center.