According to latest data available from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, cremation was the method chosen for around half of all funerals in 2012. However, due to weaknesses in professional training and education, there is a shortage of crematorium workers.

Sun Yulin, an official from the ministry's professional skills evaluation center, said that out of China's more than 82,000 undertakers, only 20 or so were senior crematorium workers with advanced certification and fewer than 200 had technician certification for cremation.

In a bid to improve the profession's image and allow outsiders to understand a little more about it, the country's first cremation competition was held in Beijing recently, featuring both written and practical tests. It was jointly organized by the ministry, the Chinese Workers' Technical Association and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs.

A total of 19 crematorium workers from across the country took part. Wei Tong from Beijing won the championship and was awarded a labor medal, the highest honor for ordinary Chinese workers.

Sun, from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said cremation "requires specialist skills, including the knowledge and practical skills to use the equipment and control exhaust gases".

Different workers "use various amount of kerosene oil and diffuse different exhaust gases", Sun said. "The appearance of the cremated remains also differs, and good cremation workers can produce ivory white ash without any foreign substances."

Chinese crematorium workers either receive their training through a vocational school education, apprenticeship at work or irregular short-term training.

"Funeral service majors at vocational schools produce about 600 graduates each year. Most crematorium workers learn on the job," said Yang Fengxin, an official from the ministry.

"This weakness in training results in a lack of highly skilled workers. We hope to encourage crematorium workers to improve their skills through the competition and expect to discover more highly skilled talent."

Zhou Huanlong, an official from the Administrative Center of Beijing Social Welfare Affairs, said there was an "urgent need" for workers with the skills to maintain and preserve crematorium equipment.

Traditionally, many Chinese families chose to bury their dead and viewed cremation with distrust. Attitudes are changing, but some crematorium workers are still met with suspicion and superstition.

Liu Yong, a crematorium worker in Shanghai, said this reaction from society made him unsure about the work at first.

"One of my relatives recommended that I apply for the program. They said it guarantees a job after graduation. I was uncomfortable at first. It took me about three years to make up my mind," Liu said.

Li Shilong, head of Beijing Dongjiao Crematory, echoed Liu's sentiments and said he and his colleagues sometimes experienced discrimination on their way to work.

"In the morning, if we take a cab, we won't tell the driver to take us to Dongjiao crematory," Li said.

"Instead, we will say Pingfang Bridge, a more general destination, and tell the driver to make a turn at the bridge and drop us there. Sometimes, I hear drivers complaining that taking me to the crematorium is bad luck and they would rather not have the fare."

Li, who works long hours, with early starts and few chances to take a vacation, said he hoped the competition would change public attitudes toward cremation.

"Crematorium workers have no weekends, no holidays, or even the Chinese new year — when they are needed, they have to work. People don't stop dying on the holidays," he said.

"We deserve more respect from society."