天葬 (sky burial / tiānzàng) is a Tibetan funeral practice where the corpse is placed on a mountainside and ritually cut with cleavers. The dead body is then left exposed, oftentimes eaten by awaiting vultures. It is a practice that is both practical (the ground in Tibet is usually too hard to dig and fuel for cremation is scarce) and spiritual.
Why it is blocked: Disposal of the dead has at times been a contentious issue in China. Though traditionally, Chinese have preferred to bury their dead in the ground, Mao initiated a campaign in the 1950s to encourage citizens to cremate corpses in order to free up more productive farmland (a notion that is still advocated today) as well as to stamp out “superstitious” folk religions. In some areas, burials are still technically illegal, though such laws are widely ignored. Cremation rates have risen since the 1950s (now at 48%), and today most urban Chinese cremate while the majority of those in the countryside still bury.
Sky burials, also known as celestial burials or open-air burials, have the added sensitive element of being a Tibetan practice. To those who are unfamiliar with the ritual, it may also appear to be a particularly grotesque one (NSFW). In 2006, in order to protect and respect the act, the central government reportedly implemented regulations, with a ban on photography and media coverage of any such burials. However, numerous photos persist online (NSFW). It’s likely blocked due to these graphic and potentially upsetting images to non-Tibetans. [Status]
