SEA burials were held on April 16 and 17 in Qingdao for 923 deceased people, the first time this year and the biggest number in the city’s sea burial history.

    The sea burials were organized by the city’s civil affairs bureau. Fiftyfour ships were used.

    “My mother was born in Qingdao and moved to Beijing to work in 1953. It was her dream to have her ashes spread in the sea,” said a resident, Zhou Jianfang.

    Zhou said that all her family members supported the low-carbon sea burial.

    The sea burial had been gradually accepted by local residents and people in Shandong Province, said Guo Kefeng, social affairs department of the city’s civil affairs bureau.

    “The sea burial is environmentally friendly and is free for local residents. A sea burial service for people without Qingdao hukou only costs 500 yuan,” said Guo.

    The two sea burials could save more than 400,000 yuan for local people in burial expenses.

    The bureau was considering setting up memorial monuments or memorial halls in the city’s public cemeteries for people to pay tribute to their sea-buried family members, according to Guo.(Li Hao, Li Lili)