In Russia, an enthusiast’s family might order a birthday cake shaped like the car he’s been talking about for the past decade, but in China things are different: the car is presented not during life, but after the funeral.
Paper offerings are a standard part of Chinese funeral rites. Houses, clothes, stacks of cash — all of these are made not to be kept, but to be burned.
The traditional practice of Zhizha is based on the belief that fire and smoke can transport a physical object into the spirit world, where the deceased receives it and can use it in the afterlife. Burn a copy here — and the real thing appears there.
I had heard of this custom but had never seen it applied to full-size automobiles. That changed when I came across photos of products from a historic Hong Kong workshop called Dachanglong Paper Number, which has been making paper items and providing funeral services since the 1950s.
The workshop creates paper replicas of a wide variety of objects, including a remarkably broad range of cars. Among its works you can find an Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce sedan, a Porsche Boxster roadster, and a Land Rover Defender SUV.
Japanese car fans will surely appreciate the classic Toyota AE86 Trueno with functioning headlights and fog lights, or the more modern Nissan R35 GT-R Nismo complete with a fixed rear wing and quad exhaust tips.
Naturally, some clients drove electric vehicles during their lifetimes. For them, the workshop has produced a Tesla Model S, Zeekr X, Smart #1, and a BMW iX. German classics include a gold Mercedes E-Class W210 and a white Volkswagen Beetle 1300.
Most of the paper cars feature a bamboo frame, transparent film for windows, paper wheels, and a meticulously detailed interior with seats and paper driver figures wearing shirts and ties. The proportions and certain design elements may not be perfectly accurate, but nobody expects an absolutely faithful replica from a vehicle that’s meant to be burned.
Dachanglong Paper Number does not list prices for its creations, presumably because each car is custom-made to order. Nevertheless, they cost significantly less than the real vehicles you’d buy from a dealer. They’re also much easier to burn — meaning they’ll reach heaven faster.
That leaves just one question: which car would you like to order for yourself after you say goodbye to this world?
