China News Service, Tianjin, March 31 (Reporter Xu Jing) "The sound of the flute spreads to the sea and the sky, and the kindness stays in the heart." On the 31st, the 2024 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei ashes scattering event was held in Tianjin's Bohai Bay. Families from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei came to the shores of the Bohai Sea to fulfill the last wish of the deceased to rest in the blue sea and clear waves.
On March 31, the 2024 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei ashes scattering event was held in Tianjin’s Bohai Bay. Photo by China News Service reporter Yi Haifei
At 10 o'clock, the sailing ceremony was held at the Tianjin International Cruise Home Port Terminal. At the event site, the soldiers of honor looked solemn and lined up neatly to present flower baskets to the deceased sleeping in the sea. As the lampposts were lit up and the whistle blew, the ashes-scattering event officially started. The "Guobin No. 9" special ship carrying the ashes of the deceased sailed slowly towards the Bohai Bay.
After the ship arrived at the designated sea area, the family members boarded the deck in an orderly manner under the guidance of the staff and gently scattered the ashes of their loved ones into the vast expanse of blue waves. Accompanied by falling petals, the deceased are buried at sea. In the embrace of the vast ocean, they sleep on their pillows and return to nature.
Beijing citizen Liu Miao has lived with her grandmother since she was a child. She said that being buried at sea was her grandmother’s long-cherished wish.
"Tangshan is near the sea, and our love for the sea is innate." Bai Guangsheng, who lives in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, told reporters that his grandmother, grandfather and father had all chosen to be buried at sea before, and this time it was to see off his mother. "My parents were alive, and When they discussed their future destination, both of them agreed with burial at sea."
The reporter learned from the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau that Beijing began to promote the scattering of ashes in the sea in May 1994, and organized a total of 774 batches of collective ashes scattering activities, and buried nearly 34,000 ashes of the deceased. Over the past 30 years, public participation in the event has increased year by year. With the in-depth implementation of the funeral and burial policy to benefit the people, the scattering of ashes in the sea, a public welfare and ecological burial method that is subsidized by financial funds, provides free services and does not retain any ashes, has effectively alleviated the burden on the people. The funeral burden has adapted to the diverse burial needs and promoted changes in customs in the funeral field.
On March 31, the 2024 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei ashes scattering event was held in Tianjin’s Bohai Bay. Photo by China News Service reporter Yi Haifei
"Compared with traditional funeral methods, the process of burial is simpler." Liu Miao, her wife, and other family members set out from Beijing in the early morning. She said that the moment she got out of the car and saw the vast sea, she understood her grandma's choice even more.
This event was jointly sponsored by the civil affairs departments of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, aiming to further promote land-saving ecological burial and enhance the depth and breadth of coordinated development of funeral work. The civil affairs departments of the three places stated that they will further deepen cooperation in the funeral field and work together to create a more complete public service system.
"If my mother were still alive, today would be her 88th birthday." Bai Guangsheng felt happy for his mother to return to nature on this special day. He said, "No matter where I go from now on, my heart will always be with my parents." (End)