Buried at sea
Faced with an ageing population, soaring property prices and increasingly scarce land, traditional burials are an expensive and complex affair for many in China.
As an alternative, the government has been trying for years to convince more people to break with tradition and bury loved ones at sea. The idea has been slow to catch on, but a few have embraced the custom.
A mourner waits for a bus to depart to take her to a sea burial ceremony.
Staff from the Shanghai Funeral Services Centre push a cart carrying people's ashes as they prepare for a sea burial.
A worker for the Shanghai Funeral Services Centre carries bags of ashes.
A man arrives to catch a bus that will take mourners to the sea burial.
People board a boat for the burial ceremony. Each trip to the confluence of the Yangtze and the Pacific Ocean can accommodate about 250 people. Organisers allow a maximum of six family members to accompany each urn.
A couple travels on the ferry to scatter the ashes of a relative into the ocean.
A woman waits in line to scatter the ashes of a relative.
A woman stands near the window of the boat as she attends the burial ceremony.
People scatter ashes into the sea.
A woman reacts after releasing her relative's ashes.
People observe a moment of silence after scattering the ashes of the deceased.
Flowers float on the ocean's surface after the sea burial ceremony.
