Elderly Chinese enjoy more diverse cultural products and entertainment, according to a recent survey report.
In 2015 some 20.7 percent of elderly reported engaging in gardening or keeping pets, up 8.8 percentage points from 2010, according to the Survey Report on the Living Conditions of China's Urban and Rural Older Persons (2018), published by Social Sciences Academic Press.
About 88.9 percent of elderly listen to the radio and watch TV, up 2.8 percentage points from 2010, while 20.9 percent read newspapers and books, up 4.5 percentage points. Some 42.8 percent also said they like taking a walk or jogging.
Five percent of the surveyed elderly use the internet frequently, up from 0.3 percent in 2010, mostly for reading news, watching TV shows, playing games, and chatting.
Some 2 percent of those surveyed said they attend colleges which provide programs targeted at elderly people.
A total of 222,700 Chinese aged 60 and above from across the country answered the survey, which has been conducted every five years since 2000 by the China National Committee on Aging.