Recently, in a national forest park in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, some visitors discovered that some of the stone steps were actually made from tombstones, with inscriptions such as “deceased father” and “virtuous wife” clearly visible. The incident sparked discussions and debates across the internet.
According to a report by the New Beijing News, on May 20th, a netizen visited the Huishan National Forest Park in Wuxi and while walking near the Baiyun Pavilion on the north slope hiking route, discovered that some of the steps were inscribed with epitaphs, such as “deceased father,” “virtuous wife,” “uncle,” and “son,” clearly indicating the relationship between the one who erected the tombstone and the deceased.
Netizens criticized the situation, stating that “it lacks respect for the deceased, and can also cause psychological discomfort for visitors,” and “even if they are unclaimed tombstones, they should not be stepped on by thousands of people.” Some admitted, “After knowing that we were stepping on tombstones, I really dared not to continue walking.”
After the incident garnered attention online, on May 21st, the staff at Huishan National Forest Park responded, stating that the stone path was built many years ago through fundraising by Longhai Temple and Baiyun Pavilion. In 2005, Wuxi initiated cemetery reform. Some large tombstones and cement structures in the private cemetery area on the north slope of Huishan were dismantled, and unclaimed tombstones were cut and used as materials for the stone path.
In response to this, Lawyer Zhang Gongdian from Chongqing Zhihe Zhi law firm told The Paper that tombstones belong to “specific objects with personal significance,” carrying dignity and mourning. Cutting, trampling, and paving over them constitute insults to the dignity of the deceased and violations of social norms. If the deceased have living relatives, they have the right to seek civil liability against the perpetrators under the law. If there are no living relatives, other close relatives also have the right to seek civil liability against the perpetrators.
Public records show that Huishan National Forest Park in Jiangsu is located on the west side of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, 3000 meters away from the city center. In May 1993, Huishan National Forest Park was approved by the former National Forestry Bureau to become a national forest park.
Many netizens expressed that this is not isolated to this location. “Many places are like this, including the old town of xx we visited, where the roads were paved with tombstones of descendants of local ancestors,” they said. “Many old mountain roads are like this, I’ve seen them and walked on them since I was a child.” “The staircase greening in my previous middle and high schools was built with tombstones. I thought this was a common practice. They can be found in older schools and parks.”
Some netizens couldn’t help lamenting, “The brainwashing by the Communist Party makes people lose their sense of awe.”