Toying with an idea for the elderly

Around 2010, Song registered a blog account named Elders' Toy Shop, and posted eight articles, including related news and his tips about buying toys for elders. He researched the market of elders' toys, finding that China had more than 177 million people aged 60 or above, while almost all toy manufacturers made only children's products.

Now the number has grown to 254 million but there are still very few elders' toys available. Song registered the brand of Lao You Suo Wan in September and quit his job. In October, he opened the elders' toys shop.

Nicknamed as Elders' Starbucks, Lao You Suo Wan is not only a shop but has become a game center for elders living nearby since it opened.

One hour after the shop was open, a man surnamed Fang took his 3-year-old granddaughter to the shop. Both wore masks. Song took a Burr puzzle made of wood down the shelf and Fang soon sat at a desk and tried to solve it.

A woman surnamed Wang then came with her 2-year-old granddaughter.

"We come here every day," she smiles.

Before long, the two kids started playing together and Wang sat at a desk to play a game for a while before she started playing touhu.

"If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, there would have been more people. They love playing together. Some people who never talked to each other even if they often met in lifts become friends at my shop. It's much better than sitting in an apartment and watching TV all day long," Song says.

He also often saw an old man who traveled two hours by bus to the shop and left without buying anything.

Apart from elders, a lot of younger people born in the 1970s and 1980s came to buy toys for their parents.

"We are still at an early stage, but as China ages, elders' toys are surely a promising industry," Song says.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, by the end of 2025, China will have had more than 300 million people aged 60 or above.