Coffin makers in the northern province of Shanxi were busy. We watched as skilled craftsmen carved intricate ornaments on freshly cut wood. In recent months, they say that the demand for their products is crazy.
One peasant, a client, told us that sometimes coffins were bought up. Smiling at the fate of dark humor to be found in the area, he added that the funeral industry workers were “making a small fortune”.
There has been much debate about the real number of Covid deaths in China after the virus swept through its metropolises.
About 80% of the population – more than a billion people – have been infected since China lifted restrictions in December, according to leading epidemiologist Wu Junyu. Last weekend, China reported 13,000 Covid-related deaths in less than a week, adding to the 60,000 deaths it has tallied since December.
But these deaths were in hospitals. In rural areas, there are few medical facilities, and those who die at home are mostly not taken into account.
There is not even an official estimate of the number of dead in the village. But the BBC found evidence of a significant rise in the death toll.
We visited the crematorium and they were busy too, with mourners dressed in white walking forward carrying the ceremonial casket that would eventually contain the remains of a loved one.
In another village we saw a man and a woman loading huge tissue paper birds onto a truck. “These are cranes. You ride a crane to the other world,” said the woman.
As they collected other intricate Buddhist images, freshly made from tissue paper, they said demand for their funeral ornaments skyrocketed to two or three times what they normally would.
Everyone we met in this part of Shanxi who was involved in the funeral industry told us a similar story about the increase in deaths, and they all attributed it to the coronavirus.
“Some of the sick people are already very weak,” said one man as he continued to load the truck. “Then they get Covid and their older bodies can’t handle it.”
We followed the truck to the place where the artwork was being delivered and met Wang Peiwei, whose daughter-in-law had just died.
The mother of two children, who was 50 years old, suffered from severe diabetes for years, and then caught the coronavirus.
“After she contracted Covid, she had a high fever and her organs started to fail. Her immune system was not strong enough to survive,” said Mr Wang.
The yard of the family house was filled with decorations for the ceremony. Mr. Wang told us that there are many more images, flowers, etc. to come.
Standing in front of the tent in the courtyard where her body was hidden, he explained that on the day of the funeral, 16 people would carry her coffin and bury her according to tradition.
He said that although the cost of arranging the funeral has skyrocketed due to the number of deaths from Covid, they will pay the extra money in her honour.
“She was a wonderful person. We have to have a grand event to host her, the best we can afford,” he said.
Every year, hundreds of millions of young people return to their hometowns at this time to celebrate the New Year according to the lunar calendar. This is the most important holiday in China.
The villages they are returning to are now mostly inhabited by elderly people – people who are more vulnerable to Covid.
There was great concern that this year’s mass migration for the Spring Festival could quickly spread the coronavirus to remote areas, with deadly consequences.
The government has warned city dwellers not to return home this year if their elderly relatives are not yet infected.
Dr. Dong Yongmin, who runs a very small rural clinic, estimates that at least 80% of residents there have already contracted Covid.
“All the villagers come to us when they are sick,” he said. “We are the only clinic here.”
According to him, most of those who died there had concomitant diseases.
In terms of managing the medicines they had when Covid hit the village, Dr Dong said they would not sell medicines to people beyond their needs.
“For example, I would only dispense four ibuprofen tablets per person,” he said. “They don’t need two boxes. They will simply be spent.”
However, he said he believed the worst of this Covid wave was over: “We haven’t had any patients in the last few days.”
Those who die in this region are buried in the fields. Farmers then continue to grow crops and raise livestock around their ancestral mounds.
Driving along the road, we noticed fresh mounds of earth with red flags on top. There are a lot of them. A farmer who grazed goats confirmed that these were new graves.
“Families buried elderly people here after their death. There are simply too many of them,” he said.
In his village of several thousand people, he said, more than 40 residents died during the last wave of Covid.
“One day someone dies, and the next day someone else dies. It has been non-stop for the past month,” he said.
But in rural areas, life and death are treated quite philosophically here. This farmer said that people will still celebrate the new year as usual.
“Son and daughter-in-law will be back soon,” he said.
I asked if the locals were worried that the return of family members could mean more infections.
“People should not worry. No fear!” he said. “You will still get infected, even if you hide. Most of us are already infected and we’re fine.”
He and many others hope that Covid’s deadliest work is done and that, at least for now, their energy can be spent on being with the living, not burying the dead.
