Even when six feet under, Chinese just cannot escape the long arm of the state.

Elaborate private funeral rites, which can last days with chanting monks, dancing strippers, and wailing mourners, are now banned in parts of Wenzhou, a southeastern coastal city of nine million.

Starting this week, wakes must be state-sanctioned. Families can choose from luxury, mid-range or discount government funeral packages. Even the number of floral wreaths in each mourning hall are now capped at five, and a new 24-hour funeral consulting service has launched for help on all things death-related, such as body transport and storage.

The Chinese government has long waged war on extravagant funerals, but it is tough in a place that takes the dead and dying very seriously – improper burial rites are thought to bring bad luck to the living.

Tradition dictates tomb placement, and ceremonies last days with families burning paper replicas of food, money, and even iPads, to ensure loved ones a comfortable afterlife.

In a culture where social dignity is highly valued, nobody wants to be perceived as cutting corners especially when it comes to paying your respects.

Some families even pay professional mourners to express grief - the louder the cries, the stronger the demonstration of filial piety. Others choose to hire strippers, a practice authorities have as well tried to curb.