Front Yard Funeral

On Friday morning, I came out of my apartment building and found a giant, three room tent out in front. The tent wasn’t in a parking area but, still, it was a strange sight. When I came home from work, it was still there. On Saturday morning, the tent and the accompanying event were still going strong. While walking past it, I noticed a large sign. So, I took a picture of the sign to have a co-worker translate. It turns out that the sign said something like “We are sorry for the inconvenience but, there has been a death. We apologize for any noise we cause.” Yes folks, there was a funeral/ wake happening in front of my building.

After I realized that I had a three day funeral happening in my front yard, I turned to my good friend Google for some answers. It turns out that what my neighbors were doing is actually standard for Chinese funeral customs. From what I learned, if a person dies inside of their home, the funeral and wake happen inside of the home. But, if the person dies away from home (for example, in a hospital), the funeral and wake happen outside of the home. Typically, the outdoor funeral and wake are held in the person’s yard or courtyard. Since our complex lacks a yard or courtyard area, my neighbors put up a giant tent on the strip of asphalt in front of our building.

On Saturday evening, the second day of the funeral/ wake, I saw a procession coming back to the tent. They were several people in the procession. They had drums, a small gong, and tambourines. I’m not sure where they were coming from but, they were noisy. I guess that’s why they put the sign up.

I couldn’t get any good pictures of the tent. Every time I tried, I would happen upon someone sobbing and feel like a jerk. So, my pictures aren’t close or clear. I did, however, stick my head in the tent. It was divided into three rooms that were all in a row. One room was a kitchen. The middle room was a dining room. The last room was a makeshift funeral parlor. I didn’t see a coffin in it but, I also didn’t check on the first day. When I looked in on Saturday (Day 2 of 3), there were a several large, standing floral arrangements, chairs, and a table with incense and a large photograph on it.

So, if you ever walk out of your apartment building in China, and you see a giant tent, be prepared for it to be around for a while. 

A pic of the tent from a stairwell window.

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A close up of the kitchen area and the food prep that happened outside of the tent.

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The Sign 

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The Entrance to the Funeral Parlor Section of the Tent

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