Zen Mingxing, 76, died of liver cancer during a family visit to his son in Dongguan, south east China, but tradition meant that his funeral had to take place in his hometown Anyue in the centre of the country.

So rather than pay for undertakers the family propped him up in a train carriage and pretended he was sleeping.

Son Shu Tsiang, 40, told the Austrian Times: "We bought some normal but longer clothes to cover his stiff fingers and then sat him in a corner seat with a hat low on his head so he looked as if he was sleeping.

"The railway companies don't let you take bodies on the trains so I hope we don't get into trouble now this is coming out."