鈥極ldest鈥 city looks for solutions in care for aged
Print Edition
SHANGHAI is graying. By 2030, we are expected to become the “oldest” city in China, with one in three people 60 years or older.
In that year, the city is forecast to have up to 6 million elderly residents.
The Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau predicts that the elderly population is increasing by 140,000 a year between 2010 and 2020, almost double the number in the previous five years.
Statistics create debate about how the city will accommodate and care for its aging residents. Nursing homes and retirement villages are springing up, but many older people don’t want to move from their traditional homes and neighborhoods. Developers think Shanghai is ripe for high-end retirement communities, housing the elderly in luxury surroundings.
One example is the Shenyuan Community in Songjiang developed by the Kangtai Group. It opened last July, promoting itself as a modern concept in aging care. It was built alongside the group’s Shenyuan Hospital. All units in the community have been rented out. The group said it plans to apply to same model to other parts of Shanghai and across East China.
“I’m even busier now than I was before retirement,” said Huang Jingguo, 82, who rented out his flat in the downtown Xujiahui area and moved with his wife to Shenyuan. “We have a better life here.”
Different levels of care are provided, according to the health and mobility of residents. Elevators, hallways and entrances to the one-story apartments are all sized to accommodate wheelchairs. Floors are anti-slip and bathrooms have handles for support. The furnished flats are equipped with television, microwave ovens, refrigerators and washing machines.
The facility boasts a wellness center, dining hall, recreational areas, teahouses, garden areas and waterways. It provides recreational activities ranging from piano and chorus singing to theater and martial arts.
The community’s general hospital offers medical and rehabilitation services that will be included in Shanghai’s medical insurance in future. Each elderly resident will have a family doctor, and the hospital’s 200 beds are also available to the general public.
“It’s our home now, and with a hospital nearby, life for us is assured,” said Xu Ping, 72, who moved into Shenyuan from the Jiading District in northwest Shanghai.
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