Lavish Funeral Procession Disrupts Chinese Town
Weddings are always a big draw in small towns, but for the people of Xinhe Town, Wenling City, Zhejiang province, it was a multi-million dollar funeral held on Friday, March 4th that completely dislocated the daily routines of all of its residents.
Attended by at least 10,000 family members, friends, guests, staff and crowds of strangers, the luxurious procession held in honor of the 82-year-old mother of 6 local businessmen was an affair befitting royalty, complete with 9 Lincoln limos, a band of one thousand and even a 16-gun salute.
A long black carpet with a path bedecked with thousands of wreaths was the focal point of the procession. At the end of the path hung a huge portrait of the dead mother next to two mammoth LCD screens televising the life story of the deceased.
In the midst of all this, huge balloons with the word, libation written across them slowly rose in the sky while hundreds of monks chanted them upward with prayers.
The event unfolded at the large sports field of New River Middle School. Organizers bought out any activity, such as that from street vendors that might have otherwise occupied the streets along the limo routes.
Strangers were given several hundred yuan as thank you gifts plus two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes if they held candles lighting the way to the procession.
Teachers at the New River Middle School where the wedding was held wondered what lessons could be learned from such a display. (Perhaps a cover-up for a massive amount of guilt?)
The issue and the wedding’s aftermath became an Internet sensation as people from everywhere put in their two cents (three with inflation).
It would seem that even in death most of us cannot expect to be equal.
(Link)
By MDeeDubroff on 23-03-2011
