New funeral service prepares for a touching farewell for the departed

Taking its clue from a hit Japanese film, an eight-member team of undertakers are offering “Bath for the departed” service at the Shanghai Baoxing Funeral Parlor before they are taken to their final resting place. They clean the corpse, dresses them and prepare the bodies in front of family members and relatives.

“This is to give company to a person to finish the last part of his or her journey. No mistakes are allowed,” said Xu Jiaping, a 21-year-old Fujian native.

The bodies are wiped clean, hair washed, dressed up, nails and makeup done and even cleaning the wounds are some of the services provided by the team. The price ranges from 800 to 2,500 yuan, depending on the service, items included, quality of lotion and other materials used and service duration, which ranges from 30 to 70 minutes.