Elderly students star in performance ahead of Double Ninth Festival

Senior residents showed off what they have learned at the Shanghai Open University on Thursday, ahead of this year's Double Ninth Festival, a day dedicated to the elderly.

The Shanghai Open University is the largest adult education system in the city, which includes a division for retirees – the Shanghai University for the Elderly, with branches all over the city and learning resources both online and offline.

On Thursday morning, some of the silver-haired students gave performances including dances, singing, catwalk shows, traditional opera, calligraphy, and painting on the lawn of Heping Park in downtown Hongkou District. This launched the monthlong celebration of the Double Ninth Festical, also known as Chongyang Festival in Chinese. The elderly performers earned applause from parkgoers for the performers' upbeat spirits, healthy lifestyle, and sense of happiness.

Sun Youbiao, 87, and his wife Luo Fenglan, 83, also celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at the event.

"We've been studying at the university for seniors since our retirement more than 20 years ago," Sun said.

Sun has been taking classes on literature, writing, poetry, history, and international relations, and has published three books.

"I feel happy at the special university where I can enrich myself and communicate with others," he said.

Zhang Yanping, deputy secretary of the Party committee overseeing Shanghai's education and healthcare sector, said lifelong education was an active response to the needs of the aging population and an important part of the country's efforts in promoting public welfare in education and senior care. She praised the Shanghai Open University for offering widely accessible and diversified resources in flexible ways, contributing to the development of Shanghai as a learning-oriented city. She encouraged the university to further expand the supply of educational resources and innovate educational approaches to better benefit the elderly.

Min Hui, Party secretary of the Shanghai Open University, said the university would continue to enhance its efforts in supplying educational services for senior residents in Shanghai, especially resources that can help them adapt to the digital transformation of society.

During the celebration, new study bases were announced for the Shanghai University for the Elderly, at Shanghai Edu TV; the Shanghai Natural History Museum; Tongji University's Research Center for Ageing, Language and Care; the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra; and Viking Cruises.

The Shanghai Open University and Shanghai Education Press Group signed an agreement to jointly develop an academic journal dedicated to lifelong and senior education.