Inside the world of pet funerals

During the interview, Wang Yinghao, one of the founders of Rainbow Star, a company offering pet aftercare services, pauses mid-sentence and says, "I always talk too much."

Yet, when asked to recount a story about a cat he once rescued by chance, he says that he has lost the desire to go into detail about such stories. "Talking about them in the media doesn't help those poor animals; instead, it feels like exploiting their misfortune."

On a cold wintry day in early 2024, an orange-and-white, long-haired cat named Fuda — meaning "fortunate one" — was found lying motionless in a patch of greenery after being hit by a car. However, Wang, who had been called to take the apparently dead cat for cremation as part of his company's nonprofit program "The Last Day Parent", discovered the cat was still alive. He documented the rescue and shared it on social media, gaining many followers on the social media platform Xiaohongshu.

"It was a pretty popular video back then, and my follower count jumped to 14,000. However, it plateaued because I don't post very often," he explains, saying that he does not really care about internet "traffic".

Wang, a 30-year-old from Danyang, Jiangsu province, originally studied furniture design at university. Raised in a home with limited natural light, he believed better-designed furniture could improve the home's atmosphere.

After graduating, he worked as a furniture designer but soon realized he lacked both the talent and passion to stay in the profession. Additionally, the salary provided little motivation. He relocated from Zhejiang to Beijing with his pet cat, continuing to work in design for another year, until a news story on pet aftercare services profoundly changed his life.

"It seemed to be meaningful work if I could help pet owners who had lost their beloved animals by organizing comforting memorial services," he says.

Without much hesitation or research, he quit his job. After spending a month as an intern at a pet aftercare company learning everything he could, he started to look for premises in 2020 from which he could start his own business.

Eventually, Wang and his cofounders rented a space in Baiziwan, Beijing's Chaoyang district.

The aftercare services are essentially divided into three key parts: washing deceased pets, conducting farewell ceremonies, and handling cremation. Wang's background as a designer significantly influenced the atmosphere and design of the facility.

During his research before launching the business, he found many farewell ceremonies to be "unbearable".

He remembers farewell rooms adorned with mismatched religious symbols, including statues of Kshitigarbha, the King of the Inferno, crucifixes, and figurines of Jesus Christ. Tables where the deceased pets were to be placed were often decorated with gaudy, artificial flowers.

The height of the tables was also problematic. When it comes to farewells, people typically stand in front of the table, but if it is the standard 75 centimeters in height, they have to bend to touch, hug, or kiss their pets.

"It's an exhausting gesture during such a painful time," Wang says, adding that he has back pain himself.

Therefore, Wang set out to create a more comforting environment, one that resembled the kind of place he would want when saying goodbye to his own cats in the future. At the same time, he placed a strong emphasis on practicality and user experience, striving to make the process less physically taxing.

Wang says that many people would leave in tears, clutching a jar of ashes, which deeply saddened him. In response, he and his cofounders established a prayer hall where people could linger and express wishes for their departed pets.

"For me, the store is designed with two main considerations," Wang says. "One is for the pets, ensuring they leave with dignity by being washed and placed in a nice room. The other is for the people, similar to human funerals, where many elements are for the living. These rituals help people accept the reality of parting and help them move on with their lives."

In its first year, the company received about 700 orders, and after they relocated to another location in Dongba, Chaoyang district, the number tripled, so much so that they had to open a second, two-story branch of the company.

Some 20 kilometers from downtown Beijing, the new branch of Rainbow Star, covering 700 square meters, similar to the one in Dongba, sits quietly in a cultural and creative park in the east of the capital.

On a warm spring morning, gentle music wafts from within the building, where a soothing palette of warm yellow envelops the space in brightness. Near the entrance, a wall displays photos of cats and dogs that have died, each capturing a moment of vibrant life and endearing charm.