Shandong 4-year-old child’s death sparks controversy as funeral home charges nearly 14,000 RMB for 8 baskets of flowers. On July 14, the topic “High-priced flower baskets at Jinan Funeral Home” trended online. Many netizens were outraged by the situation. Some expressed mixed feelings and questioned, “Should the living be burdened with exorbitant fees for the deceased?”
On July 9, the child, nicknamed “Little Apple,” who was battling cancer in Jinan, Shandong, passed away. A netizen posted that the Jinan Funeral Home charged the family 13,800 RMB for 8 flower baskets, sparking heated discussions.
According to the report from Xinjing News, on July 10, the mother of “Little Apple” revealed that the child was diagnosed with advanced neuroblastoma in February 2023. Despite undergoing multiple treatments, the child sadly passed away on the morning of July 9. She arranged 8 flower baskets for “Little Apple” at the funeral home, and the receipt showed a price of 13,800 RMB for “vigil room fresh flowers”.
She mentioned, “The initial price was 18,800 RMB, but after negotiations, they agreed to charge 13,800 RMB. Even so, I still found it hard to accept this price. After several discussions with the funeral home, they finally settled on a fee of 3,000 RMB.”
A search on e-commerce platforms for funeral flower baskets in Jinan and its surrounding areas showed that the selling price of a “large flower basket” generally ranges from 100 to 400 RMB.
The sky-high price of the “vigil room fresh flowers” shocked many netizens. The average price per flower basket was as high as 1,725 RMB, far exceeding market prices and costs. Netizens questioned why the flower baskets seemed to be turned into “golden flowers,” which they found excessive. They criticized, “This isn’t about selling flowers but selling ‘golden bars’!”
Netizens complained, “We can’t even earn enough money while alive, and now they want to snatch away the ‘flower money’ for the dead?”
Some netizens lamented, “We can’t afford to die anymore!”
One netizen, A, shared a bitter experience—they couldn’t even afford a decent farewell ceremony when their father passed away during the pandemic. The cost of funeral supplies had multiplied several times. They managed to find an affordable urn online and saved a significant amount of money.
Another netizen, B, mentioned how their mother-in-law’s cremation became a challenge during the pandemic. As the process dragged on for 43 days, the mortuary fees skyrocketed to over 20,000 RMB. Such expenses would be considered a fortune in any situation, let alone during moments of grief.
On the afternoon of July 10, the staff at Jinan Funeral Home stated that the matter was under investigation.
The office staff at the Jinan Civil Affairs Bureau stated that they had received multiple calls reporting the situation. They were uncertain whether an investigation into the matter had been initiated.