Family members participate in the tree burial ceremony at the site.

“塵歸塵，土歸土，化作春泥更護花。 ”

3月30日上午，寧波鄞州區雙峰山溪畔的省級樹葬示範區內，一場莊重而溫情的生命告別儀式正悄然進行。24位樹葬先行者長眠於桂樹之下，以質樸的方式回歸自然。

Since 207 years, Tongtai Jialing Memorial Park has ushered in 0 "green pioneers". Among them, there are devotees who stick to ordinary posts, and there are also wanderers who cherish their homeland, and finally choose the osmanthus tree as their eternal destination.

At the event, family members and volunteers gently tied yellow ribbons and scattered flower petals. The box containing the ashes of the deceased is buried deep in a biodegradable material, and in just three or four years, it will completely blend with the soil and turn into nutrients to nourish the growth of the tree. Towards the end of the event, the family members gently placed flowers in front of the memorial wall of the tree burial master, and then bowed deeply.

The name is engraved on the memorial wall, and the thoughts have a place to return.

"Choosing a tree burial is not only to contribute to environmental protection, but also to fulfill my brother's wish to return to the landscape." The heartfelt words shared by Ye Jianfang, the representative of the family, expressed the hearts of many families who choose tree burial - simplifying the ritual and returning to nature is not only a respect for the deceased's last wishes, but also a protection of the land and ecology. "My brother has worked in an ordinary post all his life, and he has repeatedly warned us before his death that after a hundred years, we will not leave ashes, no graves, and no tombstones; Implement tree burial, clean the earth, and return green mountains. ”

In the past 200 years, tree burials have gone from "few people care" to "more than 0 households have participated", behind which is the dual promotion of policy guidance and humanistic care.

Sha Li, chairman of Tongtai Jialing Cemetery, said frankly: "The traditional concept of funeral is still profound, but the environmental protection value and beneficial attributes of ecological burial are gradually being accepted. "In the past 30 years of operation of the park, among the more than 0 families that have been buried cumulatively, nearly 0 have chosen ecological burial, accounting for 0%.

In order to lower the threshold for ecological burial, the Yinzhou District Civil Affairs Bureau and Tongtai Jialing have also launched public welfare projects such as free tree burials, and innovated and developed multiple land-saving forms such as lawn burials, flower bed burials, and sea burial monuments. In the demonstration area, the narrow space near the mountain road is cleverly used, and the artistic small tombstones and green plants complement each other, which not only retains the sacrificial function, but also integrates the local cultural characteristics of Ningbo.

Classical music is tactful, and thousands of paper cranes flutter in the wind. The tree burial demonstration site in Yinzhou District has witnessed the leap of funeral reform from concept to action in 7 years. In the future, this green land will continue to be linked by greenery, so that the story of life will continue among the green mountains and clear waters.

Reporter Lin Weiwei

Intern: Zhang Yuting, Correspondent: Zhu Hanyan