Woman leaves teaching job to sell coffins to Europe, earns $6 million annually

Liu said Italian coffins are lighter than Chinese ones and often have religious carvings. (Image credit: Reuters)

• A Chinese woman switched from teaching to the coffin business
• Heze exports 40,000 coffins yearly, mainly to Europe
• Meibezhuang Village is a major hub for funeral products in China

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A Chinese woman struggled with the pressures of teaching until July 2023, when she finally decided to quit. Hailing from Heze in China's Shandong province, Lisa Liu, overwhelmed by teaching, joined the coffin business, where she now targets the European market, particularly Italy.

The 29-year-old woman said her boss gave her a factory tour and the full coffin-making process, from cutting the wood to carving and assembly. She realised that workers treated coffins as ordinary, sometimes even using empty urns for storage at home. This experience helped her overcome superstitions and the fear of bad luck.

Liu explained that Italian coffins are lighter and often adorned with religious carvings, whereas in Italy, the coffin is cremated along with the body.

Heze reportedly has around three million paulownia trees, which are lightweight, fire-resistant, and have a beautiful texture. These qualities make the wood suitable for the Italian market. According to Jimu News, Heze coffins cost between $90 and $150, which range from ($1,100 and $2,100).

According to Liu, the factory exports roughly 40,000 coffins to Europe each year, earning close to 40 million.

Despite EU policy changes and rising shipping costs, Liu is optimistic about the future of Heze's coffin industry. She told the media that death is inevitable, and everyone will eventually need a coffin.

Similarly, Meibezhuang Village in Hebei Province has become an important hub in China's funeral industry. The village streets are lined with shops selling items such as "funeral clothes," "flower garlands," and "body bags." In recent years, villagers have also introduced eco-friendly products, such as biodegradable joss paper and electronic flower garlands, which are sold through e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Just as Heze has, Meibezhuang Village in Hebei Province has emerged as an important hub in China’s funeral industry. Residents sell everything from body bags and funeral clothes to biodegradable joss paper and electronic flower garlands to buyers in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US.

In the West, young people livestream the burning of joss paper for blessings. According to Liu, a stack of paper notes sells for $15, while in China it costs less than 10 yuan ($2).

China News Weekly reported that the annual output value of Meibezhuang's funeral products industry in 2020 exceeded one billion yuan ($145 million).

According to 36Kr, the annual value of tombstones shipped to Japan from Huai'an, a city in southeastern China known for its granite, is nearly two billion yuan.