Departed offered taste of modern China

Those who died 30 years ago in China may have missed out on the country's "Great Leap Forward" from a business backwater to the second-largest economy in the world, but their offspring today have ensured the departed will have no regrets.

Millions of Chinese went to the graveyards of loved ones on Wednesday to observe Tomb Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese holiday.

But while many still burned traditional offerings, such as paper money, cakes and fruit, others decided that the dead should get a taste of the enormous material gains, and perhaps the decaying morals, of today's Chinese society.

Paper replicas of various items, including iPhones, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, luxury handbags, villas, and even bikini-clad mistress dolls, were all on sale at stalls near cemeteries and from online stores.

A saleswoman at a stall in Chongqing said they sold made-to-order mistress dolls for 20 yuan ($3.20).

Another vendor nearby sold elaborate paper villas. A replica of a furnished four-story villa complete with home appliances, and even a guard at the front door, sells for 200 yuan.

However, such items aren't as popular because most people are scornful of this excessive extravagance, the vendors admitted.

Paper iPhones and iPads, though, are a bit more popular.

"Chinese society has gone through a great many changes over the past few decades," said one customer. "People up there should also be offered the joy brought by these latest technologies."

A paper iPhone offering comes complete with a full set of accessories and prices vary from 20 yuan to 438 yuan on Taobao's online stores.

China's Internet users are able to see the funny side of these offerings.

"How will my old man know how to use this thing?" one customer asked.

"Well, Steve Jobs is there," the seller replied. "He should be able to teach the oldies how to use an iPhone. But don't forget to burn the charger too, or the old man will have a hard time trying to use it."

The new paper offerings may be innovative, but online surveys show that 80 percent of people have yet to take to them, dismissing them as "too trendy" or "too costly".

"Qingming is the Chinese equivalent of Thanksgiving," said Li Hanqiu, an official with the Chinese Society for the Study of Folk Literature and Art. "There is no point being too extravagant with the offerings. Your attitude is far more important."

Other tomb-sweeping initiatives that have yet to catch on are funeral agents who offer to send surrogates to cry at gravesides. A Tianjin funeral agent posted videos online, and a price list charging 300 yuan for a 10-minute session of wailing at the grave of your choice.

In ancient China, the tradition says, the louder you cry at the funeral, the more filial you are, and more easily the deceased may rest in peace.

"It is cheating, and very immoral," said Fu Wanfu, a popular media commentator.

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Wednesday that an estimated 520 million people mourned the deceased at graveyards or cemeteries during the three-day holiday, up 15 percent from last year.