Revision History

China's State Council has banned the use of residential apartments to store cremated remains — a practice that emerged as cemetery plot prices in major cities surged to multiples of luxury housing costs, and as the country's property market left tens of millions of units vacant. The regulation, effective March 31, 2026, raises questions about enforcement, the fate of existing remains, and whether the government is addressing the root cause: a funeral industry where dying costs nearly half the average annual salary.