SHENYANG: Putting on a bright blue knitted jacket and floral trousers, with a carefully combed silver hairdo, Li Suyun celebrated the Double Ninth Festival, China’s Seniors’ Day, in her finest attire.
“Not a hair out of place,” said the 87-year-old in Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning Province. “It’s a festival for our elderly people, and I should definitely primp and preen.”
The Double Ninth Festival, also known as the Chongyang Festival, celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, falls on Tuesday this year. It is an occasion to care for and send blessings to older people in China, a country with a fast-growing aging population.
By the end of 2021, China had 267 million people aged 60 and above, or 18.9 percent of the total population. Over the past decade, the country has seen remarkable progress in elderly care, offering an increasingly diverse range of services for the elderly. “I believe I deserve a quality life, even in a wheelchair,” said Li.
Three years ago, due to difficulty in walking, Li moved into a local elderly care home in Hunnan District of Shenyang. Along the way, the tidy and fashion-loving lady found that she rejoiced in her new life at the community elderly care home. “I hit it off with other people. I always join them in chatting and other daytime activities organized by nursing workers,” Li said. –Agencies
