Qian Liqun, former professor of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Peking University, chose to spend his remaining years with his wife in the nursing home after retirement.
As his colleague in Peking University Wen Rumin wrote in his personal Weibo account, Qian would continue his literature research and writing.
Though some people questioned the intelligence of the decision by Qian, a famous intellectual, an increasing number of China's senior citizens now choose to living in nursing homes rather than spending their remaining years with their offspring at home.
Fortunately for them, modern telecommunications technologies, particularly social networking has made them feel not so far away from their children.
Gao Lanzhi, 75, lives her life in full without the feeling of loneliness and fear, although her daughters live abroad.
One year ago, she moved to the Happiness Senior Citizens Care Center, a private nursing home in west Beijing. Her single room was filled with books and daily necessities. Chinese calligraphy, singing, photography, baking... Gao has many things to do. As she said, "here is my home."
She received a knee surgery last year. But after that, she did not hire any nursing worker at home. "I cannot bear facing just one person all day long,"she said. Thus she moved to the care center, where she found the company of 200 others.
She used to worry the impatience and unprofessionalness of the stuffs at the nursing home. Bus she believes that the hobbies and friends are extremely important for old people, especially in their countable lifetime left.
"The nursing home provides me a quiet and reliable place to do what we like and to meet more peers," Gao said.
Gao's optimism and engaged life are not commonly seen among Chinese old people.
"Most of them usually felt panic and lonely when they firstly taken here by sons or daughters," said Hu Tongwei, director of the Happiness Senior Citizens Care Center. Some of them could adjust to the new environment, others could not.
Wang Jianjun, standing deputy director of the national working committee on aging, acknowledged that China's population would enter a stage of accelerated aging.
By the end of 2014, the number of the Chinese old people above 60 years old was 212 million, about 15.5 percent of the country's total population. The number is expected to reach 480 million by the end of 2050.
More and more old people would have to live alone, without the companionship of their children.
"In this condition, the nursing home would be much more needed, compared with previous years," Hu Tongwei said.
Tweeting sunset
Two latest smart phones and an iPad were put on Gao's desk. She enjoys capturing the unforgettable moments and sharing them with her children via WeChat.
As a matter of fact, the electronic products spread around the seniors in China. And many of them can operate applications on smart phones masterly.
Nowadays some Chinese tech companies have taken on the projects of implementing the connection and interaction between the elderly and their relatives, communities, and hospitals, based on the big data on the Internet. They are integrating resources from all fields to build up a comprehensive platform to serve the aged people.
