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Living with tombs
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| Mr. Canh in Lang village cemetery. |
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| Lang village cemetery. |
In recently years, Hanoians have had to go to the suburbs to buy land in preparation for burial observances of themselves and their relatives.
The manager of a cemetery in inner Hanoi said that some rich families asked him to immediately tell them whenever a tomb is removed from the cemetery and they were willing to pay highly for the information.
Hanoians prefer cemeteries in the inner city because it is convenient for the descendants to worship their relatives and the living also want their parents to be close to them, even after their death.
Located at the gateway to the capital, Lang village in Lang Thuong Ward, Dong Da district, is known as the home to famous Lang basil with special flavor. That special flavor is thanks to the village’s special soil. Since then, land for the dead here has become a big issue.
Mr. Dang Van Canh, a local man, said that his dad is the former chairman of the Lang Thuong agricultural cooperative. He died nearly ten years ago. Next to his tomb is a plot of land of over 1m2, which has an old fence.
Canh said that plot of land is preserved for his mother, who is still alive. He said his family is “lucky” to have that “rare” land because his parents would be together, even when they are dead.
The man said that “luck” was for his father, who is the former chair of the local cooperative. Others did not have that fortunate.
According to Canh, Lang village cemetery was packed for a long time ago and nobody can have land there, although they are rich or officials. Most families whose relatives are buried here do not move the tombs.
Lam Van Thanh, Chairman of the Lang Thuong trade and service cooperative said that the Lang village cemetery is more than 4.000m2, but it was filled more than a dozen years ago. The villagers now have to burry their relatives a few dozen kilometers away.
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| Quan Hoa cemetery. |
Mr. Thanh sad even the cemetery management board does not have land to build its office inside the cemetery.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, teacher of a private preschool was surprised when she asked a kid in her class “Where do you live?” and the innocent girl answered: "My house is near a cemetery." When the teacher asked the kid’s mother, she learned that the baby told the truth.
The residents of Group 46, Quan Hoa ward, Cau Giay district, Hanoi, are familiar with the cemetery in the middle of residential areas. The cemetery is a few hundred square meters, with a few hundreds of graves.
The cemetery is in triangle shape. Its two "sides" are two tiny roads leading to hundreds of houses that face the cemetery. The remaining side is the back of a row of houses, which have windows facing the cemetery.
The current cemetery is the remaining part of a big cemetery of the old village of Quan Hoa. In the past, when the village was not called “street”, the cemetery was located at the edge of the village, adjacent to the To Lich River and a small canal. Until 2000, this area was still desolated.
When the village became a “street”, it has completely changed. In a couple of years, the desert area became crowded residential areas. The land around the cemetery was sold out. The cemetery of the village, under the ban of receiving new tombs, was narrowed because of the encroachment of local people, to become a “triangle” as it is today.
The cemetery is separated from residential areas by a tiny road. It does not have a fence, nor a gate.
Asking people living around the cemetery, they said that they were scared to live together with tombs but they have to accept it.
Retired people seek land in cemeteries
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Thanh Tuoc cemetery, which is about to close. |
In the spirit of Asian people, death-related things are among the most taboo things and they try to avoid, even in their thought.
Whenever one dies, his/her family thinks of buying new clothes, a coffin and finds a place to bury. However, in a myriad of concerns of the urban people, seeking a final resting place has become a new concern.
Mr. Nguyen Van Bac, is a former official of a state-owned enterprises, who has retired for two years. When he just retired, Bac planned to enjoy his life after several decades of dedication and hard working. He spent a lot of time for friends and his hobbies such as playing chess or sipping tea with his friends.
One day, members of the local elderly association, veterans’ association and the fatherland front, the organizations of elderly people, suddenly received an invitation letter to a workshop held by a cemetery running company.
Receiving the invitation, Bac and his friends got angry, considering this as a bad omen, because they were still healthy and were living in fun with their families and they did not want to think of the “final resting place.”
That was their thought but they still attended to workshop to see “how it is”. The presentation of the cemetery running firm’s representative mentioned about the current situation of cemeteries in the inner city and Hanoi’s cemetery planning. These are the fact that all families will have to face but they always try to avoid.
A well-known historian also attended the workshop and frankly said that he was also a customer of the cemetery project. He bought land for himself and his wife at a new cemetery in Hoa Binh.
After the workshop, finding “the final resting place” is no longer a taboo for Bac and his friends. Bac discussed with his wife and children very serious about it.
He searched for information on the Internet about Hanoi’s cemetery planning and visited new cemeteries which are built in the form of cemetery-parks, the place where anyone will have to come.
Hanoi’s cemetery planning
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| Lac Hong Vien cemetery. |
Hanoi has seven big cemeteries which have been almost filled up for a long time ago. These cemeteries were built in the 40s and 50s of the last century.
In seven cemeteries, only Thanh Tuoc in Me Linh District has a waste water treatment system. This cemetery is now fully used and is about to be shut down.
In addition, Hanoi has thousands of small cemeteries located in 29 districts and towns.
After the cemetery master planning of Hanoi was approved by the Prime Minister, the Institute for Construction Planning was assigned to design the regional planning that was submitted to the Prime Minister for approval in the second quarter of 2012.
Experts said that this cemetery planning is made methodologically. Under this plan, by the end of 2012, all cemeteries in the inlying area of Hanoi will have to stop first burial to ensure environment and the city’s landscape.
However, it will need more time to define which cemeteries that will be removed and those that will be closed.
Mr. Le Vinh, Deputy Director of the Institute of Construction Planning said: "In urban areas, we affirm that cemeteries are not allowed to exist, especially the cemeteries for the first burial because it does not guarantee environment and landscape. However, we need a roadmap for removal and closing of these cemeteries."
According to the cemetery master plan to 2030, Hanoi will improve and build 14 big cemeteries, with Yen Ky 2 in Ba Vi district as the largest, with 150ha - 383ha.
It is expected that six cemeteries that will not accept both first burial and exhumation in the next two years, including Mai Dich 1 (Cau Giay District, 5.5 ha); Mai Dich 2 (Thach That District, 57 - 200ha); Van Phuc (Ha Dong District, 5ha); Xuan Dinh (Tu Liem district, 5.5 ha); Thanh Tuoc (Me Linh district, 14ha); Minh Phu (Soc Son district, 60 - 130ha) and Thuy Lam (Dong Anh district, 8 ha).
According to this plan, each suburban district will have to set aside land to build at least a large cemetery.
All the old, small-scale, decentralized, spontaneous cemeteries will be closed.
Recently, the Hanoi People's Council also issued a resolution on cemetery and funeral house planning to 2030 and orientations to 2050.
Accordingly, Hanoi will have 23 funeral houses in 2020, 38 in 2030 and 44 in 2050.
According to the Hanoi People's Committee, because of administrative boundary expansion, the city’s population has increased and the number of deaths within the boundaries has also risen.
In addition, relocation of graves in the area of clearance has also made the rise of demand for cemetery land. Meanwhile, cemeteries are being narrowed by the encroachment of local people.
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Hanoi currently has six big cemeteries, with a total area of 104 hectares, including Yen Ky, Vinh Hang, Thanh Tuoc, Mai Dich, Van Dien and Sai Dong. All of them are already overloaded.
The Van Dien Cemetery in Thanh Tri District stopped receiving first burial from July 2010. Yen Ky Cemetery in Ba Vi District is only used for final burial and its remaining land is only sufficient until 2013. The Vinh Hang Cemetery has just put into use but its area is only 8.3 hectares.
The city will also build and expand 20 big cemeteries. In the northern region, there will be Dong Anh district cemetery with an area of 20 hectares and 100 hectare Minh Phu cemetery in Soc Son district.
The city will also build Trung Mau cemetery on 53 hectares for Long Bien and Gia Lam districts; Chuyen My cemetery for Phu Xuyen district, with an area of 21 hectares; Tran Phu cemetery in Chuong My district, with an area of 22 hectares; and Mai Dich 2 cemetery in Thach That district, with an area of 100 ha.
Along with the new cemeteries, the city will close the existing cemeteries such as Mai Dich 1, Xuan Dinh, Van Phuc, Van Dien, Yen Ky 1 and Sai Dong.
According to the plan, each district will have a centralized burial area. Therefore, the city will build nine new cemeteries in the districts of Soc Son, Quoc Oai, Phuc Tho, Thuong Tin, Thanh Oai, Ung Hoa, Dan Phuong, Hoai Duc, and My Duc.
Each commune will also have from 1 to 2 cemeteries depending on the population.
Small cemeteries, which are not in the cemetery planning, will be closed. Single tombs or family tomb complexes will be moved to concentrated cemeteries of communes from now to 2020.
The estimated investment for building cemeteries by 2050 is VND29.7 trillion, including more than VND12.5 trillion from 2012 to 2020. The capital will be raised from ODA, the budget, commercial capital from the Development Assistance Fund and the investment forms of BOO (build own operate), BOT (build operate transfer), and PPP (public private partnership).
Kien Trung
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