Mickey Mouse and ghosts may not be the first things that come to mind when one mentions Disneyland as authorities plan to move 1,200 graves found on the construction site of the mainland’s first Disney theme park.
Chuansha county residents will receive RMB300 for each relative moved to a new burial ground reports Shanghai Daily. “More than 400 tombs have been moved so far,” said Ding Guojun, the general manager of Huilong Cemetery.
The Chinese value their burial customs, believing that funeral sites must be chosen well or restless ghosts of ancestors wreak bad luck to their descendants. Typically, cemeteries are found on hillsides since it is believed this improves a site’s feng shui or geomantic omen.
Negotiations for the Shanghai Disneyland project took years to gain traction and was only approved last month. It will be one of the largest foreign investments in the country and the second Disney theme park in Chinese territory after Hong Kong Disneyland.