Recently, in a residential area in Taishan City, Guangdong Province, several homeowners have raised concerns that multiple housing units within the community have been transformed into columbariums. Following an initial check by the village committee, it was revealed that there are more than 20 such rooms suspected to be used for storing human ashes. Similar incidents have occurred multiple times in recent years.
According to a report from the “Xinjingbao” newspaper on October 21st, multiple homeowners in a residential area in Taishan City, Guangdong Province, have reported the suspected presence of several columbariums within the community. One homeowner stated that several commercial properties were purchased within the community, and after renovation, the doors remained closed. It wasn’t until the 18th that it was discovered that these properties were allegedly being used as columbariums.
A resident in the community expressed, “This is a residential area, and if there are indeed columbariums here, it would be quite terrifying for everyone.” The resident mentioned that after someone bought 6 to 10 commercial properties within the community and renovated them simultaneously, anomalies were later discovered in the renovation designs, leading to suspicions of them being columbariums. It was also reported that upon the unusual discovery, the ashes in the rooms had likely been removed.
The preliminary investigation conducted by the Hedong Village Committee, to which the community belongs, identified over twenty rooms suspected to be columbariums. Additionally, personnel from the Haiyan Town Government have been dispatched to the site and will take necessary actions based on the investigation results.
Such incidents are not isolated cases. In a report by CCTV Net in March 2025, it was highlighted that in the Tianyu Riverside residential area in Foshan City, Guangdong Province, homeowners had discovered unconventional columbariums within the community.
CCTV Net noted that in recent years, various residential areas across different regions have been exposed for harboring columbariums. Some individuals consult Feng Shui masters when purchasing and setting up columbariums, leading to clusters of columbariums appearing in certain communities.
Investigations have revealed that the homeowners opting for columbariums predominantly reside in first and second-tier major cities. Due to the high costs of burial plots and maintenance fees in major cities, providing a final resting place for their loved ones comes at a considerable price. Ms. Zhao from Chaoyang District in Beijing stated that even in remote cemeteries in Beijing, the prices can exceed ten thousand yuan and only offer a burial right for 20 years. She expressed, “It’s too expensive, I can’t afford it.”