About 67.27 million human remains have been cremated from 1978 to 2005 in China, saving tens of thousands of hectares of land and trees and billions of yuan.

In 2005 alone 4.5 million corpses were cremated, representing 53 percent of those who died last year. "This has helped China save more than 2 million cubic meters' wood, 2,000 hectare's farmland and millions of yuan last year," Li Xueju, Minister of Civil Affairs, told a seminar on Thursday at the 50th anniversary of Chairman Mao Zedong's initiative to encourage cremation.

China has a longstanding custom of burying the dead.

"Encouraging civilized cremation could help discard outdated customs, save resources, protect the environment and relieve people's financial burden," the minister said.

Li said the State Council will issue a revised regulation on funeral management this year that is aimed at doing away with "vulgar and superstitious worship and cracking down on excessive energy consumption and environmental pollution caused by burials."

Li introduced many environmental friendly ways to hold a funeral, such as to scatter ashes into the sea.

Late Chinese leaders such as Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping set examples for modern funerals. Their ashes were scattered in the mountains and sea.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2006)