See The Cemetery that looks like a Town

In Manila, Death doesn’t put an end to the luxurious lifestyles of some wealthy Chinese residents as most of them bury their loved ones in a mammoth graveyard known as the Chinese Cemetery of Manila. This place is a small town in it’s own way with many tombs reaching the size of mansions with all the modern amenities provided.

The big mausoleums lining either side of two-way streets within the cemetery are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities that many living people can only dream of. They have fully-functioning kitchens and bathrooms with luxury fittings, and plush bedrooms for visiting relatives. Some of these places even have full-time residents who don’t seem to mind sharing their living space with the dead.

The unconventional cemetery was first established by the Chinese trading community in Manila when Spanish colonials prevented them from using Catholic cemeteries. They were forced to find their own space to bury their dead, and it looks like they really went all out to customize it to their liking, making sure that their loved ones felt comfortable even in the afterlife. The extravagance of the cemetery is believed to reflect the great respect that the Chinese have towards their departed family members – they believe that the souls of the dead live in another world and their graves are supposed to be their homes on Earth. So if a family can afford it, it only makes sense for them to construct afterlife homes that are up to three stories high. Interestingly, children aren’t buried at the Chinese Cemetery – they are cremated instead and the ashes are placed at a special building within the neighborhood.