Spending time with elders costs little

THE eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou has piloted a program, through which young people can volunteer to live with the elderly in exchange for lower rent in the metropolis.

The program, launched in a care center for the elderly in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, allows young single people with stable jobs to pay only 300 yuan (US$43.2) to rent a room in the center, provided that they accomplish 20 hours of volunteer services a month at the center.

The services include chatting with the seniors, and accompanying them when they are reading or writing. The volunteers are also required to teach the seniors how to use smartphones if necessary.

The center currently has more than 600 senior citizens, and 11 volunteers have joined the program, which was launched by local government authorities.

“I think it’s great,” said Yang Yunhai, one of the volunteers. “Each week, I teach a painting class.”

Yang said while they can enliven the spirit of the elderly, the seniors also teaches the volunteers a lot about life.

“These days, many young people do not have much in common with senior citizens, but the program helped create a harmonious situation here,” said Wang Kai, director of the program.

China’s population is aging rapidly. The number of people aged 60 or above reached 241 million by the end of 2017, accounting for 17.3 percent of the total population. The number is expected to peak at 487 million around 2050.