The city's first set of regulations governing the construction of cemeteries will come into effect in January.

The rules are grouped into three sections and those linked to facilities that cater to the burial of ashes will be put into practice first. The other two sections - related to the scattering of ashes and the burial of bodies - will come into effect later, Beijing News reported on Sunday.

The regulations, drawn up by the Beijing Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision and the Beijing Bureau of Civil Affairs, also mention that emergency shelters should be housed within cemeteries.

The regulations say a map of the emergency shelters' locations should be published in the cemeteries. The size of the shelters will vary according to the size and purpose of the cemeteries. The facilities will range in scale from 150 to 450 square meters in for-profit cemeteries and be between 100 and 300 sq m in non-profit cemeteries.

According to the regulations, cemeteries that cover more than 30 hectares will not be encouraged to build in future. And land for graves should account for less than 60 percent of the total area.

In addition, roads in cemeteries should be no wider than 4 m and parking areas must be located near entrances. The changes are largely designed to ensure valuable land is not wasted.

Security facilities in cemeteries are also part of the new regulations and closed-circuit cameras and fire extinguishers must be provided.

Cemeteries are not allowed to occupy cultivated land and should also be built away from historic sites, water resources, lakes and rivers as well as important lines of communications.

It's reported that for-profit cemeteries began to be seen in the capital in the late 1980s. Now, there are 33 for-profit cemeteries in the city. Statistics from the Beijing Bureau of Civil Affairs show there are 23 non-profit cemeteries in Beijing. In addition, about 95 percent of the city's 5,000 villages have collective cemeteries but some are facing removal because of the city's construction plans.

Due to traditional burial customs, more than 90 percent of people prefer to keep the ashes of their dead relatives.