Tomb leases more than 20 years old in public cemeteries can be renewed at lower prices, according to the Beijing Funeral Association.

Jiang Xiaogang, secretary-general of the association, said in an interview with qianlong.com that detailed regulations on renewals will be introduced after Qingming Festival, the traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day in China.

Jiang noted that original renters will get priority to use the tomb land once the regulations come into effect.

According to the Beijing Administration of Civil Affairs, tomb land in public cemeteries is not for permanent use. Instead, the longest term for renters is 20 years. After that period, renters must pay extra fees to renew the leases.

There are 33 public cemeteries in Beijing, most of them in northwestern Beijing such as the Shijingshan, Haidian, Fengtai and Changping districts.

Previously, regulations on tomb renewals were made by individual cemeteries, but the rising number of tomb leases up for renewal prompted the Administration of Civil Affairs to draft regulations that apply to all public cemeteries in Beijing.

"The price of tomb renewals will be much cheaper than the first-time rent," said Jiang. "The first-time rent includes the land fee, management fee and construction. For renewal, the renter just needs to pay the land fee and management fee."

According to Jiang, the land fee is about 1,500 yuan per sq m, and the tomb management fee is 5 percent of the cost of a tomb; so, a tomb costing 10,000 yuan to build would have a management fee of 500 yuan. Altogether, the renewal fee will be 2,000 yuan (1,500 yuan plus 500 yuan).

"The term for renewals will not exceed 20 years, either," Jiang added.

Besides the renewal fees, the location of public cemeteries will also be adjusted. According to the Chinese Funeral Development Report 2010 from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, public cemeteries in Beijing will be clustered around northwestern Beijing, while few will be built in eastern and southeastern Beijing.

"The government will take cemeteries into consideration when doing city plans in the future," Jiang added.

On Saturday, the first day of this year's Tomb-Sweeping Day festival, more than 600,000 people went to sweep tombs in Beijing, Beijing News reported.