Price of Paper Houses Bought to Burn Reaches 3 Million Won... Incomprehensible Chinese Ancestral Ritual Goods Market
by Kim Jinsun
Published 03 Apr.2025 09:39(KST)
Some Businesses Sell Various Items Beyond Traditional Supplies
ATMs, Gas Stations, Airplanes, and Villas Among the Offerings
Prices Range from 1 Million to 3 Million KRW
As Qingming Festival (Qingmingjie·淸明節), one of China's four major traditional holidays, approaches, the prices of ritual supplies are soaring.
Local Chinese media outlets such as Jimu News and Zhonghua Net reported on the 3rd that "as Qingming Festival approaches, the prices of ritual supplies are reaching their peak," adding that "there is growing dissatisfaction over the soaring prices."
According to the reports, last year in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, a luxurious paper house worth 6,800 yuan (approximately 1,366,000 KRW) appeared, sparking controversy on social networking services (SNS). Jimu News confirmed that "high-priced paper houses are still being sold in large quantities, and their size and prices are exaggerated," citing a merchant in Wujin District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, who said there is a paper house nearly 15,000 yuan (about 3.01 million KRW) in total area of 200㎡.
During Qingming Festival, visitors to ancestral graves may bring fresh flowers or visit the graves, but according to customs, they also burn jizhun (紙錢, paper money) or paper houses. As a result, prices of ritual supplies such as flowers, jizhun, and paper houses surge around the Qingming Festival. Jimu News pointed out, "Every time Qingming Festival approaches, some businesses sell not only traditional items but also paper models of ATMs, gas stations, luxury cars, yachts, airplanes, and villas," adding, "These enormous paper houses are wasteful, pollute the environment, and can lead to fires."
Netizens on Weibo (微博, the Chinese version of X) expressed, "The sight of paper houses resembling two-story villas burning is as shocking as an earthquake," and "The flames shoot up to the sky, and the smoke fills the air, creating a terrifying scene."
Jimu News emphasized that practical measures must be taken regarding these customs. They called for strong actions such as monitoring the sources of ritual supplies and imposing production restrictions. They added, "Changing customs is not easy, but if this continues, even larger paper houses will appear," and "Reducing the soaring prices of ritual supplies gradually and strengthening education will help Qingming return to its traditional roots."
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