Free lessons improve elderly care

A residential community in Haidian district, Beijing, has found a way to take better care of its elderly residents: by inviting them to regular cultural and art activities.

The practice impressed attendees to the China Now: Silk Road Rediscovery Tour of Beijing upon the 70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

Ganjiakou subdistrict, founded in 1963, has a population of more than 150,000 in a 6.49-square-kilometer area. About 30 percent of residents are older than 60, according to the subdistrict.

In China, 17.9 percent of its population were aged over 60 at the end of 2018, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

To provide a colorful life for locals - especially the retired - the subdistrict opened a four-story building with about a dozen classrooms for the public to take courses.

These include traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, poetry, handicrafts, choral singing and dances, said Chu Wei, a government worker at Ganjiakou subdistrict.

In one room, a teacher uses a brush to paint flowers on white paper hung on the blackboard.

An Suqing, 51, one of the students, said she has been taking the ink and wash painting course once a week for about two months. Currently, they are learning to paint peonies.

"I've lived here for many years. My neighbors told me the subdistrict offers many courses and they are for free. So I signed up. It's good to have something to do to kill time after retirement," she said.

In a class on the fourth floor, about 30 young volunteers teach the elderly how to use mobile phones and computer tablets.

Chu said it's necessary for the elderly to learn computer skills so they can video chat with their grown-up children studying overseas or use mobile payment for shopping.

"It's also a good chance for the young and older generations to communicate and learn about each other," she added.

The subdistrict also provides rooms for reading, legal consultancy, clinics, massage and entertainment. The number of volunteers there has exceeded 17,800.

Farvartish Rezvaniye, a writer and video journalist from Iran, was a participant of the rediscovery tour. He said what he saw there was amazing.

"The current generation likes to use applications, mobile phones, laptops, the internet, YouTube, WeChat ... but physical and human activities are going to be forgotten. In here, they (the elderly) can paint, make handicrafts and learn how to use mobile phones, which is necessary for living in this century," he said. "If I were old, I'd love to stay here."

"It would be great if we have something like this in my country," he said, adding he would share his experience with people and the government in his homeland.

Maung Maung oo, another participant, is an author, media worker and a China expert from Myanmar. He has published several books about China.

"It was very impressive for having all these workers serving the community as well as the old people," he said. "I've also heard they teach old people how to use the internet and computers. There are many communities in Beijing. Having such activities is good for mental and physical health."

Chen Shuzhen, deputy chief of the subdistrict committee of the Communist Party of China, added the Beijing government has asked each subdistrict to provide a cultural center for residents free of charge, with an area no smaller than 1,000 square meters.