Authorities in China's south-east have confiscated, destroyed, and even exhumed coffins in accordance with a controversial "zero burial" policy, according to local media reports.

Key points: Officials in Jiangxi province confiscated more than 5,000 coffins last month

Officials in Jiangxi province confiscated more than 5,000 coffins last month Some rural families have to save for years to buy the coffins

Some rural families have to save for years to buy the coffins Footage on Chinese social media showed authorities using force to seize coffins

The Jiangxi Provincial Government wants locals to only cremate their loved ones' remains, but poor families in rural areas of China often spend a fortune saving up for coffins and expensive burial rituals.

The hardline roll-out of the policy — which is reportedly being executed to adopt more "eco-friendly" practices but observers suggest is a bid to preserve land space — has even drawn rebuke from Beijing state media as "barbaric".

Footage on Chinese social media shows officials removing coffins from homes, and facing resistance from the owners.

After being seized, the coffins were placed side by side and smashed to pieces using excavators.

'Is there any reason to take barbaric means?': state media

Families who voluntarily gave up their coffins received compensation, but those who resisted received no money. ( Weibo )

Elderly people in many villages in the province store their coffins in their homes, believing that they will be rewarded with a longer life the earlier they prepare, the state-owned Global Times newspaper reported.

Some old people even tried to climb inside their coffins in an effort to stop them being taken away.

There has been opposition to the policy, which authorities announced six months ago. ( Weibo )

Authorities in Jiangxi have been conducting a campaign against burials since April this year.

The Global Times said Jiangxi authorities collected more than 5,000 coffins last month; however other reports said tens of thousands had been confiscated since the beginning of the policy.

At least one body was even exhumed in one county after being buried in violation of the policy, the South China Morning Post reported.

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Families who voluntarily gave up their coffins received compensation, but those who resisted received no money and could even face fines.

Reports from earlier this year suggested the amount in compensation was less than what many paid for the caskets.

The People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's official mouthpiece, this week criticised the way the Jiangxi Government was pursuing the policy.

The editorial has since been removed from the paper's website, but remains on other Chinese news sites.

"Is there any reason to take rough and even barbaric means?" the newspaper said.

"It ruins the image of authorities, and even provokes public grievances and anger."

In a statement released yesterday, Jiangxi's Civil Affairs Department acknowledged the controversy surrounding the most recent round of coffin seizures.

"In the process of promoting the reform of funeral and interment in our province, some counties and villages have adopted drastic measures … they have caused adverse effects and hurt some people's feelings," the statement said.

"Those simple and drastic measures should be stopped immediately, and those deviations should be rectified immediately."

An article published in Beijing News suggested authorities in the province would continue with the policy, but would not take coffins by force.

"The staff of the Yifeng County Office of Funeral Reform said that if people were not willing to hand over the coffins, then the government would not force them, but they cannot be compensated accordingly," the article said.

"If you don't hand over the coffin, there is no way to use it in the future."

It is not the first time this year authorities have attempted to intervene in funeral rituals in rural China.

In February, China's Ministry of Culture announced it was cracking down on the practice of hiring strippers as entertainment at funerals, a technique some families use to increase the number of mourners.