Expensive cemetery sparks debate

A state-of-the-art cemetery in Hunan province''s Hengnan county is screaming for attention not just because it looks like an imperial tomb but also because its owner is an ex-official.

A 200,000 yuan graveyard in Hengnan, Hunan province, owned by a former local official has drawn a tide of criticism from the public after its photographs were posted online.

 Guarded by two stone lions, Liu''s Family Cemetery, the words carved in the marbled entrance, lies half way up a mountain.

Built by a retired local birth control official, surnamed Liu, at a cost of 200,000 yuan ($29,000), the cemetery covers an area of 200 sq m, according to Liu''s son.

But local authorities claim it is sprawled across 420 sq m of land, which the owners "don''t have the permit to use".

The authorities have already launched an investigation.

"We built the cemetery after my mother died of cancer in 2003. It was my father''s wish to be buried beside her when he dies," Liu''s son said. "We occupied the land through a proper legal channel and we have documents to prove it. Also, the area is not a farmland, but uncultivated land."

He added the authorities must have added the area of the path leading to the cemetery to their measurements.