Living man holds funeral for himself

A 66-year-old villager from Shandong province in eastern China recently held a funeral for himself. The old man even set up a tombstone at his future grave, explaining that he was afraid to be forgotten by people after he passes away.

The old man named Zhang Dexiang was from Rizhao city. He has been single his entire life and now lives in a local nursing home.

Zhang explained that the funeral is also a test to see whether his relatives and friends care about him.

About 40 of his relatives and friends attended the funeral. But what made him sad is that the other 20 people did not.

His move triggered debates among villagers. A villager said that it was not worthwhile since the funeral cost the old man 16,000 yuan ($2,454.4), suggesting that he should have donated the money instead.

But other villagers believed that the funeral showed Zhang's sorrow and longing for company.

When talking about the tombstone he set up, Zhang said being a bachelor all his life, he is not likely to be remembered by people after he passes away. Therefore he made the tombstone in advance, even though such behavior goes against local custom.

The old man also set up a tablet with inscriptions beside the road he funded to build for the village, hoping those passers-by could remember him.

In 2014, Zhang contributed 26,000 yuan to build the road that provides great convenience for the villagers.