WHILE her 8-year-old granddaughter does her homework for the winter vacation, Chen Yuying also takes out hers — a Chinese rice paper, a writing brush and the prepared ink.

The 68-year-old Shanghai native assigned herself the homework after participating in a Chinese painting course at a local university for the elderly since September. She paints at least two hours a day to keep herself proficient.

Chen is the face of a new generation of retirees in China, who are continuing to learn new things and stay relevant in a fast-changing nation.

Though most Chinese picture a traditional retired life as sitting in a pleasant room with grandchildren playing around their knees, many of the recently retired are thinking differently. Rather than attaching all their joy to the children, many of the over 60s in Shanghai are exploring happiness on their own.

Chen sometimes shares a photo of her most satisfactory work with her classmates. It always thrills her when positive comments come her way, and she is already looking forward to the start of the new semester.

“Practicing alone is not as fun as practicing in the classroom, where you can get direct opinions from the teacher and classmates,” she says. “And of course, it is always good to be accompanied by people sharing the same interest. I feel like I’m back to the teenage years again.”

The market for educating seniors, quite limited in the 1980s, has grown at enormous speed in the past 10 years. Long queues of senior citizens can be seen at almost every institute that provides elderly education during the application season.

According to a research in 2012, about 56 percent of those over 60 years old in Shanghai are participating in systematic education or training after retirement, while 46 percent are interested in lifelong learning. The research was conducted by the Shanghai Association of Quality Inspection, with 2,753 elderly people participating.

“It is always touching to see the thirst for knowledge among the old people,” says Zhang Zongmei, president of Shanghai Laoling (Elderly) University, one of the four municipal senior universities in the city.

Most of the elderly students take the courses simply out of interest, which injects them with great passion for learning.

According to Zhang, many students don’t even miss a single class and are always eager to discuss their work with teachers after class. Many students travel long distances to attend class; there are even out-of-town students renting apartments in Shanghai so they can study.

Established in 1989, Shanghai Laoling University has witnessed great changes in demand for senior education. With only a 12-student class in health at the beginning, the university is now providing services to more than 8,400 students over 60.

It has developed a catalog of courses that include dancing, vocals, instrumental music, foreign language, cooking and photography. It started computer-related lessons in 2012, teaching basic operation, online shopping and photo editing.

“The transition from the traditional concept of living for the children to living for themselves among many Chinese elderly today may be a major reason behind the quickly growing market for senior education,” says Zhang.

As the busiest student last semester, with courses from Monday to Friday, Lu Shude enjoyed every minute at school where he could learn different things and share information with his fellow classmates. He never worried about having limited time for his family and children, as he believes they can take care of themselves.

“I have been taking care of them for more than 30 years. Now it is time for me to live for myself,” says Lu, 67.

Though retired from their work lives, many of the elderly remain confident about their capability, according to Zhang. Rather than shutting themselves in the apartments, they chose to get out and learn new skills and make new friends.

“The elderly believe that they can still make contributions to the society as long as they keep themselves relevant to the world,” says Zhang. “They come to school not only for knowledge, but also to find a platform where they can realize their value.”

Some of the senior students who graduate from the university voluntarily work as teachers at community senior schools. Others volunteer in the community and provide various services. For example, some of them form a dancing team and regularly visit local nursing homes. A 78-year-old student even used the skills he learned in a health class to save a man who had fallen unconscious on the subway.

“Everybody is excited when talking about their achievements and contributions, just like children showing off their high academic remarks to their parents,” says Zhang.

However, only a very limited number of the elderly in Shanghai can gain access to the platform. While there are about 284 senior education organizations in Shanghai, an estimated 500,000-600,000 elderly people are studying at schools after retirement.

The over-60 population in Shanghai had reached 3.88 million by the end of 2013, accounting for about one of every six people in the total population, according to the Shanghai Statistics Bureau.

That number is projected to grow by 5.7 percent annually in the next decade, surpassing 6 million by 2025, as estimated by the Shanghai Aging Science Research Center.

Though there are suggestions about developing more distance learning courses to reach more people, the basic requirements for computer operation may prevent a great number of the elderly from that.

“Substantive schools are and may still be the essential base for senior education at least in the next five years, considering the needs of the elderly,” says Zhang.

But limited funds are an obstacle. Even though it has expanded almost 20-fold from its original scale, Shanghai Laoling University can provide only about 2,000 seats in classes each year, and many students want to take more than one class.

There are always old people waiting outside the building around 5am, even though the application does not start until 9am. Even with the government covering half of the entire cost, it is still quite difficult for the university to make the other half, given the tuition fee of 160-300 yuan (US$26.67-50) per class per semester.

“The tuition fee hasn’t increased in the past 20 years, as we insist it a public welfare undertaking,” says Zhang, “but we now need help from the society to keep it on.”