Prioritizing care for seniors at the Double Ninth Festival

The Double Ninth Festival, this year on October 11, is a traditional day to celebrate autumn and pay respect to senior citizens. In Minhang District, best wishes were conveyed to its centenarians who shared their secrets of longevity and what they have learned during their long lives.

Granny Zhang from Baochun No. 1 residential neighborhood in Xinzhuang Town is 101. She is in good health and high spirits. During the visit, she told people stories of her younger days.

"I was a teacher," she said, holding a worn photo album. "To encourage my students to learn better, I would play music records for them, guiding them to sing and dance. Gradually I nurtured a preference for singing and dancing myself."

Zhang lives with her husband as their children now live overseas. The neighborhood community care for them and their needs. When Zhang was worried about a lost identity card, they sent household registration police to help her. The police also reminded her against sharing personal information with strangers.

Districtwide, a variety of activities were held this month to celebrate the festival.

The Zhuanqiao Cake Festival, celebrated from October 11-13, showcased the traditional rice cake, a staple in the Double Ninth Festival's customs that symbolizes the virtue of respecting and caring for the elderly. This year's three-day event achieved record sales, with 10,000 kilograms of cakes sold, amounting to over 200,000 yuan (US$28,134).

Couples married over 50 years were invited to take photos to commemorate their "golden marriage."

As well as special attention on the Double Ninth Festival, the district extends care and seeks to solve problems for seniors in their daily lives.

By the end of 2023, Minhang had set up 89 community comprehensive service centers for seniors. Its goal by 2025 is to raise the number to 110.

In the future, such seniors service stations are expected to cover rural areas, a district national people's congress delegate said.

There are 41 seniors cafes, serving their elderly customers convenient, safe and tasty food.

In 2023, 52 percent of the district's seniors' cafes were ranked as performing excellently and 44 percent as satisfying, coming second citywide.

"We're facing an aging society with more empty-nested households," said an official from the district committee on aging. "An issue of daily meals becomes an urgent problem we have to solve for the elders. They need diverse, tailored and convenient catering services. "We'll further improve locations of the cafes and the delivering routes according to the seniors' population density and distribution."

In 2024, the district will add 10 more community seniors' cafes, in Huacao, Qibao, Pujiang, Zhuanqiao, Wujing, Hongqiao, Maqiao, Meilong towns as well as Pujin and Jiangchuan Road subdistricts.