SERVICE AT DOORSTEP

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the Chinese central government is providing financial support for a program to enhance home- and community-based basic elderly care services.

As part of this initiative, 303,600 home-based beds have been renovated for nursing needs, and 535,800 people have received home-based care services.

In 2023, northeast China's Jilin Province had allocated 100 million yuan (about 14 million U.S. dollars) to support the construction of 102 community-based elderly care service centers and 100 community-based canteens for seniors.

"Now, we have a canteen within the community, which makes it convenient and affordable for the elderly to have meals," said 87-year-old Zhang Ling, who lives with her 89-year-old husband in the city of Hunchun in Jilin.

"The community also organizes regular home visits for health check-ups for us and our needs are well taken care of," she said, expressing great satisfaction with the state of their lives.

ENABLING MEASURES

On Sept. 1, 2023, a new law concerning building a barrier-free living environment, the first in China specializing in this field, came into effect.

The law explicitly stipulates that meeting the needs of senior citizens is a key task and requires a series of measures, including installing elevators in old residential buildings.

In the Longcheng community in south China's Shenzhen, the elevator installation program has seen 395 elevators being installed, benefiting over 30,000 residents.

Such barrier-free facilities enable elderly people to participate better and integrate into social life equally, fully and conveniently.

For 77-year-old Li Xiurong, who lives in the Longcheng community, her long-held hope of not having to use the staircase when going out for a stroll or shopping with her grandson has finally become a reality, with elevators eliminating difficult and potentially dangerous movements up and down the stairs.