Li Zhong has been living in Catalonia for decades after immigrating from China. Their children grew up in Spanish lands and created their own roots. Lee is one of more than 223,000 residents from the Asian country registered in Spain. The community has grown over the years. Many have raised their children here, and unlike some time ago, they no longer think about returning to their hometowns later. “I plan to retire in Barcelona to be close to my family,” he explains to me.
Although there are still many who consider returning to China when it comes to retirement, more and more people agree with Li and see Spain as a place to retire and die as well. For this reason, a group of representatives of the Chinese community in Catalonia created an association to encourage the construction of the first multi-denominational Chinese cemetery in all of southern Europe.
This tomb will be in the Monistrol de Calders (Barcelona) and will allow essential aspects of Chinese funeral rituals to be fulfilled. Basic principles dictate that bodies cannot be buried in niches and that graves must be single or, at most, even. This can be achieved in any of the public cemeteries in Catalonia or Spain – although the price is high due to the small number of ground cemeteries available.
What will distinguish the new Chinese cemetery are ritual aspects that cannot be implemented in other cemeteries and which, although not essential, are culturally important. For example, he will be prepared to host long and huge celebrations after death. They also usually leave offerings in the form of food removed by other graves, and it is customary to burn leaves and incense, which is also usually prohibited.
In addition, the new cemetery was also designed to meet other needs such as the idea of remaining integrated into nature and having a location, design and orientation that respects the principles of Feng Shui. For those responsible for the project, the suitability of this land comes from its location and distance from urban centers, which allows harmony with nature without changing the landscape.
Cemetery on the grounds of a medieval farm
Create community Customized To manage the new cemetery, he purchased the land from an investment fund. This is La Païssa, an area of 58.7 hectares and containing a medieval farmhouse registered on the Catalan Architectural Heritage List. This land also contains the chapel of San Narciso and a group of Visigothic tombs from the 6th century that were abandoned after archaeologists excavated them.
The Chinese community – which works with Ultima Funeral Home – did not announce the name of the company created for this deal. The City Council of Monistrol de Calders also does not wish to share this information until interested parties do so. What the Council confirmed was that it agreed to grant building permits in exchange for certain conditions.
Through a settlement agreement, which was seen by the media, it was agreed that the cemetery would employ workers from the town as a priority, in addition to the people of the region and region. “We have a very high unemployment rate and it is important to provide jobs for people here,” explains Arturo Argillaguer, Mayor of Monistrol de Calderes.
The first mayor realizes that the city needs to be revitalized. “Big industry will not come to us for money and work,” he admits. For this reason, the mayor’s office agreed with the company to promote the project with annual contributions of between 20,000 and 40,000 euros “as subsidies to municipal entities”, in addition to recruiting local companies, promoting the town within the Chinese community to encourage entrepreneurship in the urban center and its surroundings, and completing the construction of a municipal facility, swimming pool or football field.
The group promoting the project, in turn, wanted to invite Mayor Argylaguer to Dongyuan, a municipality located in the Qingtian region with which Monistrol de Calders had agreed a twinning agreement. “They wanted there to be this rapprochement between the two cultures, and it was not just an economic deal but a social and cultural exchange,” the mayor explains.
The mayor’s office confirms that they are already noticing the change, and that although the cemetery has not yet opened its doors, its effects are beginning to be noticed. They claim that some properties that had been on sale for several years at prices exceeding one million euros were sold shortly after the new cemetery agreement was concluded. However, the council notes that they do not know if the buyers are of Chinese origin, but they are optimistic about this new project.
A cemetery in a diaspora context
“There is a Chinese saying that fallen leaves return to their roots,” explains Irene Madeo y Torruela, PhD in Intercultural Studies and member of the Center for Studies and Research on East Asia (CERAO) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). The anthropologist confirms that the idea of returning to its original homeland is a universal idea in all migrations, and the Chinese were the best example of this, as until now they were spending their old age in their homeland. But the funeral tradition of Chinese expatriates has changed over the years.
“We are in a second or third phase of Chinese migration: they are already deeply rooted in Spanish, Catalan or European society,” explains Macdio, who points out that it is increasingly common for them to bury their dead nearby. Furthermore, tradition understands death as a continuation of life, so the living understand that they must continue to care for their dead, and in return, those who are no longer here will care for those who remain. In practice, this care translates into having to visit cemeteries frequently, especially during the first year.
The new cemetery, while respecting the basic principles of funerary traditions, will be different from those in mainland China. “It will be a cemetery in a diasporic context,” Macdio explains. The doctor adds that she will certainly seek to cover, in addition to funeral services, needs that are not covered by Catalan society, such as selling items intended for ritual use such as incense or burning leaves.
The cemetery currently bears the name Sukhavati, which means the land of ultimate happiness, and is the name by which the Pure Land school of Mahayana Buddhism is known, one of the most widely practiced Buddhist traditions in the Far East, especially in China, Japan and Korea.
Its area of 587,400 square meters will be larger than that of Montjuïc Cemetery in Barcelona, although the number of graves, which exceeds 150,000 in the Barcelona Cemetery, will be limited to a maximum of 80,000 in the sanctuary of the Monistrol de Calderes.
This reduced number of spaces is due not only to the fact that there will be no niches, but also because a traditional cemetery will occupy only 56% of the property. The agreement concluded between the council and the Chinese community stipulates that 38% of the forest area be preserved, and the remaining 6% will be the old farm land, which the new owners of the place have committed to restoring.
On the grounds there will also be a 900-space parking lot and other constructions such as burial spaces in forest areas, ecological spaces, a large lotus pond, a Bodhi Garden, a path of Chinese zodiac animals or “VIP spaces” with traditional Chinese artistic elements.
“There will be more parking spaces than there are people in the city,” comments one of the people who today lives in the La Paesa farm, which has been occupied for years. “It will be like the port of Avertura, but with the dead,” says the 28-year-old, who has been staying on the farm for some time with other people.
They claim to be giving life and even preserving the building that has been abandoned since the 1980s. “If it had not been for those of us who lived in it and devoted ourselves to supporting it and repairing the roofs and beams, this heritage would have been completely in ruins,” says one resident.
“If they kick me out of La Paisa, I won’t care because I have my truck and I won’t stay on the street, but I feel very sorry that people allow themselves to be carried away by money without thinking about the big impact of this big project,” says the young woman.
Both residents agree that they would have liked to undertake another type of project, such as a historical museum making use of the remains of the Visigothic and medieval building, or for it to return to being a colonial house as it was at the end of the 20th century.
The occupants of La Païssa, who have not yet received any official communication about the legal eviction process from the new owners, are not the only ones who do not fully support the project. Some townspeople also have their doubts, especially since the town has no Chinese community. However, they recognize the need for this project.
“The cities are dying,” explains Imelda, an 85-year-old neighbor who has lived in Monistrol de Calders all her life. “There is no place to work and young people have to leave.” Next to him, Isabelle, 58 and born in the town, nods. She recently moved to another nearby town where she has been working for years.
“I think this will be helpful for people,” Isabelle says. However, his support is qualified by skepticism. She is not sure that the Chinese community will hire people from the city and fears that the agreement with the city council will remain on paper. Anthropologist Irene Macdeo insists that Chinese society is known to be closed, but she asserts that these myths will disintegrate little by little, as generations pass and its members become increasingly integrated into local society.
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