Chen Lu/Shanghai Daily news

The usage rights for cemetery plots could be cut from 70 years to 20 years in Shanghai, according to a draft amendment for Regulations on Funeral and Interment Control.

Funeral managers estimate graveyards in the city will be full within four or five years. At present, cemetery plots are sold with a 70-year usage period. After this, families can buy another 70 years or funeral urns containing ashes are removed and buried. But 70 years is too long, according to the Shanghai Funeral and Interment Association.