KUNMING (XINHUA) – Under the weight of a backpack half her size and a giant camera slung over her shoulder, He Ping, 61, trekked through a stretch of wetland en route to the best spot to photograph birds.
Driven by her love for photographing birds, He, a retiree from Beijing, travels across southwest China’s Yunnan Province in search of the best vantage points, as she and her husband now live in the province for a couple of months every year.
Retired and energetic, the amateur bird photographer is among a cohort of the population dubbed “elderly migratory birds”, which refers to seasonally migrating elderly citizens in pursuit of pleasant weather or comfortable dwellings.
As a new generation of healthy, vigourous and richer Chinese adults enter retirement age, a growing number of old-age “migratory birds” have injected new momentum into the silver economy.
Official data shows that China was home to 297 million people aged 60 and above by the end of 2023, accounting for 21.1 per cent of the country’s total population. Against the backdrop of a rapidly ageing society, China released a guideline earlier this year to strengthen the silver economy.
The current scale of China’s silver economy is estimated at about CNY7 trillion (about USD982 billion) and it is expected to reach about CNY30 trillion by 2035.
At a press conference held recently on the guiding principles from the just-concluded third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Executive Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs Han Wenxiu noted China will enhance the development of old-age care industry.
As many Chinese born in the 1960s have reached retirement age, a new generation of retirees has emerged, many of whom are healthy and vigorous, said Director of Yunnan old-age health industry development association Wang Jianxin. Compared to previous generations, they have received better education and work opportunities as a generation that witnessed China’s reform and opening-up.
They generally possess stronger purchasing power, greater desire to travel, and more diverse leisure needs, Wang added.
In a country so vast, the climate varies drastically from place to place, prompting many health-conscious retirees to move regularly to cooler places in the summer and warmer places in the winter.
Wang Qingchun, 64, escaped the scorching heat in her hometown Changsha – dubbed the “furnace city” – and took shelter in Qujing City, Yunnan, where temperatures in the summer have averaged around 20 degrees Celcius. “The weather here is definitely a lot cooler, and we are planning to stay here for two months this time,” said Wang. She and her husband have checked into an old people’s apartment compound since early July, which costs CNY3,580 per person per month.
The apartment offers free meals, shuttle services and facilities including a movie room, a karaoke room, a gym and massage chairs. “It offers everything but an air-conditioner,” Wang joked, happy with the amenities and the respite from the heatwave back home.
Following renovations, the 100-room apartment building started receiving guests outside Yunnan last year.
The majority of the resident body are from heat-impacted regions such as Hunan, Sichuan and Chongqing, said apartment employee Yang Xiaohong, adding that they are fully booked. Elderly guests like Wang have helped boost tourist numbers in Qujing.
According to data from the Qujing municipal bureau of culture and tourism, in the summer of 2023, Qujing received a total of two million tourists, grossing tourism revenue of approximately CNY23.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of over 22 per cent.
The influx of these “migratory birds” has also invigorated local small businesses. In 2023, Zhang Xiaowai who lives in the suburb of Qujing transformed her two six-storey houses into a 40-suite vacation residence that accommodates old people’s living needs.
All of Zhang’s suites had been booked as of April this year. With the help of her daughter, Zhang started using China’s social media platform Xiaohongshu, or Little Red Book, to post pictures of their various suites to attract customers.
“Nowadays, many young folks are sorting vacation apartments for their parents on social media platforms,” Zhang said, “Since the elderly guests arrived, restaurants, hair salons and clothing stores in my neighbourhood have enjoyed good business.”
The picturesque Changbai Mountain scenic area in northeast China’s Jilin Province is another magnet for heat-averse retirees. The seasonal migration of seniors has boosted the local hospitality industry. In Erdaobaihe Town in the vicinity of Changbai Mountain, homestay businesses have mushroomed in the last two years.
Although a growing number of elderly people choose to travel and live in different places, the “migratory bird” lifestyle is still considered high-end consumption and raises requirements for supporting services such as health care, said Lin Mingwei, Deputy Director of the civil affairs bureau of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province.
As cross-regional medical insurance reimbursement is made available in more places across China, medical concerns that hold back the elderly who wish to travel and live in a different place have eased to some extent, Lin noted.
The silver economy plays an important role in expanding domestic demand and improving the well-being of the elderly, according to experts.
Director of the expert advisory committee of Shanghai old-age care industry association Yin Zhigang believes that a coordinated and market-oriented approach should be adhered to in facilitating the seasonal migration of elderly citizens.
