Suzhou city issues rules to limit cemetery purchase

New rules mean that migrant buyers are being prevented from purchasing cemetery plots in China's Suzhou city.

A cemetery in Suzhou city, east China's Jiangsu province. [Photo: 91soumu.com]

Analysts believe the move is targeted at buyers from nearby Shanghai, where cemetery space has become scarce.

Released on March 2, 2017, the latest rules stipulate that cemeteries seeking to sell plots to migrant buyers must get regulatory approval from the local civil affairs department, without which they would be forbidden from selling plots in any of Suzhou's cemeteries, whether they are operating, public welfare or disused.

Cemeteries ignoring the new rules will face an official rectification order.

Located about 100 km (62 mi) northwest of Shanghai, a burial plot in Suzhou commonly costs 30,000 yuan, with a 2016 record reaching up to 120,000 yuan/square meter, 5.7 times the city's average housing price, Xinhua Daily reports.

Shanghai citizens bear heavier burial burdens, around 60,000 yuan/square meter for one cemetery plot, official data shows.