Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2017， a total of 241 million people living in China were aged 60 and older， accounting for 17.3 percent of the country’s total population. As the world’s first country with over 100 million senior citizens， China is facing a severe aging problem.
As the “senior wave” hits China， the traditional pension mode is also subtly changing. Ahead of the 2019 Spring Festival， Taikang Yanyuan， a high-end retirement community in Changping District of Beijing， was engulfed by a festive atmosphere. This year， more elderly people were staying here to observe the festival.
Retirement Begins with Learning
Chen Yiyuan， who is 84 years old， and his 85-year-old wife Sun Liufang were among the first residents of the retirement community. With the support of their children， the couple moved here in July 2015. A senior university has been organized in the community. Courses vary from Sudoku， cloth art， painting， music and calligraphy to teaching residents to use WeChat， mobile banking and online shopping. Teachers are all residents in the retirement community. Every day， the couple checks the schedule for classes they are interested in. Chen himself also became a teacher to share his professional expertise by offering aerospace lessons to residents.
Asked how they planned to spend the Spring Festival， Sun said，“We have decided to stay here for the Spring Festival. Our children and grandchildren will come to meet us for a reunion dinner. Our schedules are full， and we don’t want to miss out on the activities and classes offered by the community.”
New Concept of Senior Care
Meng Fanmin， 76， has been living in the retirement community for more than three years. “Our generation has many deep-rooted prejudices about retirement，” she admitted. “Most still believe that only those without children end up in nursing homes. They have little knowledge about retirement communities， imagining poor conditions and insufficient labor. They have no clue about the rapid development of domestic elderly care in China.”
“The community is our new home， where we will spend the Spring Festival，” Meng said， adding that during the festival， they would enjoy the company of both their children and friends in the community. With the arrival of the Laba Festival （the 8th day of the 12th month in the Chinese lunar calendar）， a festive atmosphere erupted as celebration activities were organized every day in the community， making it a place even livelier than their own homes.
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