Thousands Gather in Guizhou as Villagers Push Back Against Mandatory Cremation

On Aug. 20, thousands of villagers gathered in China’s southwestern Guizhou Province to escort the body of an elderly resident to burial, marking the latest show of resistance to cremation laws that have fueled repeated protests against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) overreaching policies.

Videos of the gathering were posted on X by “昨天,” an account that tracks protests and other collective actions in China. According to the account, more than 1,000 people converged in Yanxia Township in Guiding County, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture to take to the streets in protest.

The villagers accompanied the deceased through the burial process, and the body was ultimately interred without authorities intervening. Local authorities reportedly did not deploy personnel to block the procession or attempt to seize the body, as villagers say happened during previous disputes. Drones were instead seen flying above the gathering to monitor the procession.

The demonstration follows months of resistance in Guizhou over efforts to expand cremation in rural communities, where a traditional earth burial remains deeply ingrained in Chinese culture.

Burial policies fuel rural resistance

Cremation has become commonplace in China’s cities, but burial continues to carry significant cultural importance in many rural communities. Authorities have promoted cremation for decades, arguing that it conserves land, particularly farmland, and reduces funeral costs. But efforts to enforce the policy have repeatedly encountered resistance from residents.

For the best of our weekly content！

You are now signed up for our newsletter

Check your email to complete sign up

RELATED: Chongqing Fandom Dispute Spirals Into Police Confrontation and Youth Protests

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported in December that Guizhou had experienced multiple protests over cremation policies since November 2025. One prolonged confrontation in Mushan village began after local authorities allegedly sought to cremate a recently buried resident, prompting villagers to guard the burial site amid fears that the body would be exhumed.

“They come to harass my family every day,” a relative of the deceased told AFP, adding that drones had also been used to monitor the family. Videos circulating online showed dozens of villagers confronting authorities and guarding the gravesite. Many of the videos were then deleted by China’s stringent internet censors.

Another confrontation reportedly occurred in Xifeng County in November 2025, when villagers blocked a funeral vehicle. Videos circulated on X showed residents forcing three local officials to wear white mourning bands and kneel before a coffin before authorities ultimately withdrew from the scene.

Residents question mandatory cremation

On Nov. 22, similar protests erupted in Shidong Township, Xifeng County, according to videos and accounts circulating on social media. Residents said the county had begun requiring cremation after death and argued that neighboring jurisdictions had shifted from mandatory to voluntary cremation following public opposition, while Xifeng continued enforcing the policy.

RELATED: Masked Man Sets Off Flare Atop Chengdu Tower, Sparking Censorship Across China

For many rural families, the dispute is also financial. Villagers have argued that cremation can add expenses rather than reduce them because families must pay cremation and urn fees before purchasing a coffin and conducting a traditional burial anyway, particularly in communities without facilities for storing ashes.

Tensions became particularly visible when officials entered villages to promote the policy and request residents’ signatures. “If the Communist Party wants to dig up ancestral graves, then dig up Xi Jinping’s family ancestral graves first! Would you dare to do that?” one villager was heard saying.

Another warned officials against attempting to remove already buried relatives: “Go ahead and try. Let’s see whether the ordinary people will let you get away with it.”

Protests rise amid economic pressures

The dispute comes amid evidence of growing unrest in rural China. Rural protests increased by 75 percent in 2025, according to Kevin Slaten of China Dissent Monitor (CDM), which tracks protests and other forms of dissent across the country. CDM also recorded 19 incidents linked to cremation policies that year, up from 11 in 2024.

Slaten has pointed to China’s economic slowdown and mounting pressure on heavily-indebted local governments, including disputes involving rural land, as factors contributing to the uptick in protests.