The chance to purchase vacant burial plots online attracted netizens on Tomb-Sweeping Day, despite rules that state the transfer is illegal, Beijing News reported Tuesday.

A man surnamed Fan told METRO he has two spaces in Yanshantaling in Hebei province. He said he bought them several years ago for around 10,000 yuan each.

He claimed that because his father has been buried in another location, the graveyard spaces need filling. He decided to advertise them on the popular portal, Baidu.com.

"Graveyard space transfer between individuals is illegal," said Jiang Xiaogang, secretary of the Beijing Funeral Association. He said anyone interested should buy them from a cemetery and only after providing a certificate of death or cremation.

"You can return it, but you must never sell it on," he said.

A seller, who wouldn't reveal her name, told METRO she knew selling graveyard space was illegal but noted the chance to cut major profits from such deals. She said spaces that were once bought for a few hundred yuan could be sold for several thousand in today's market.

However, sales have not been easy.

A man surnamed Liu said he advertized three graveyard spaces one month ago but had only three people show any interest.

He said he has not met a serious buyer yet.

Jiang said anyone wanting to make money from selling spaces would run the risk of getting caught and losing everything.