Funeral Strippers Are an Actual Thing in China

When we get caught up in the humdrum repetition of our day-to-days, it can be easy to forget how different the lives—or deaths—of people in other parts of the world are. In China, funerals appear to be far more interesting than the ones people attend in the U.S. because they have strippers. These exotic dancers—some who even perform with snakes—are part of the ceremony to honor those who have passed. While a sexy striptease next to a loved one’s corpse may sound disrespectful to some, Chinese families believe it to be an act that results in good fortune for their relative’s afterlife. The more people that come to a funeral (lured by the promise of seeing live nude girls), the more clout the deceased will get on the other side. This sounds like the plot of a Rodney Dangerfield movie to me.

According to The Wall Street Journal, The Chinese government has been trying to crack down on funeral strippers for quite some time. Earlier this year, six dancers arrived for a funeral performance in the city of Handan, but were fined for violating public security. This unique way of paying respects has also been reported to be a tradition in Taiwan as well.