STORY: Young Chinese strike gold in caring for the silver-haired
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 19, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 21, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:23
LOCATION: SHENYANG, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the bath aid services
2. various of elderly people
3. elderly people enjoying daily lives

STORYLINE:

In Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, door-to-door bath aid services have been burgeoning in recent years.

The simple act of taking a bath can pose challenges to the elderly and dangers to disabled or semi-disabled elderly people, which has led to the rise of bath aid services.

Official data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's population aged 60 and above had reached 297 million by the end of 2023, accounting for 21.1 percent of the country's total population.

Against the backdrop of a rising aging population, China is witnessing a giant and expanding old-age care market which has created job opportunities for younger generations.

According to the China Civil Affairs' Statistical Yearbook (2019-2022), the number of employees in old-age care facilities below the age 35 has seen an increase.

In addition to taking on the role of professional caretakers, young people are also bringing vigor to the day-to-day life of the elderly.

In an old-age service center in Liaoning's Yingkou City, over 100 staff members with its majority being youngsters in their 20s and 30s, spent their Spring Festival holiday offering company to nearly 400 senior residents in the center.

The tech-savvy young staffers introduced the elderly residents to the charm of short videos, recording their lives and sharing the videos on social media platforms.

Additionally, Yingkou City has also established an online elderly care information platform, integrating with all 164 elderly care institutions across the city and providing customized elderly assistance services. The platform is set up and run by a group of youngsters, whose average age is around 30.

China has recently released a guideline to strengthen the "silver" economy, which incorporates economic activities that cater to senior citizens with tailored products and services.

This also helps to prepare the country for the challenges of an aging population.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Shenyang, China.
(XHTV)