Mourners wear jewelry made from loved one's ashes

As China's Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, approaches on Tuesday, an increasing number of mourners are breaking with tradition and exploring new ways to commemorate the life of a loved one.

For one woman surnamed Zhang in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, a precious stone pendant made from cremated ashes was a brilliant idea to remember her late mother.

"My mother loved nature …. And I think this is a great answer to the environmentally friendly burials the country has been promoting," Zhang told media.

Zhang was the first in Hangzhou to try the new service which allows mourners to have a loved one's ashes turned into wearable jewelry.

The special service provided by the Zhejiang provincial government involves heating the ashes at high temperatures, then shaping them into glass-like orbs that can be fashioned into jewelry.

"These 'life stones' show people's new attitude toward life," said Chen Jinglian, Secretary General of Funeral Association of Zhejiang Province, adding that the popularity of the stones reflect an awareness of environmental protection.

Opinions on social media also showed a willingness among users to break from Chinese funerary traditions, which generally favor earth burials over beliefs that cremation desecrates the body.

"I mean, why people would be scared of their dead family members? I doubt they would hurt us, even if ghosts do exist," NetEase commented user "Banzhiyu."

Others remained skeptical of wearable ashes. "I still think it's creepy to take the ashes of your families with you everywhere you go," wrote "Yuershuizhongyou."