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Moving on

But as elderly care services grew in Shanghai and people demanded a higher living standard, the residents of the home left one by one. Some were looked after at home by caregivers or were placed in commercially run nursing homes.

Pu was the last resident of the home, and in 2018 she moved into the Shuangshan Nursing Home in Jiading.

The building is once again empty. The older residents who lived peacefully there don't want to profit from the sale, but instead pass the building on to the community, Pu said.

Her decision to donate the building was supported by her friends.

"Money is like sand trickling between your fingers," Pu said. "It is irrelevant when it drains away. Don't worry, just use it when it's needed."

In June, Chen Xuefeng, Party secretary of Gelong village, officially accepted the donation, and issued a donation certificate to the Cizhou Nursing Home.

"We will renovate the building into a public service place and make full use of it to serve the elderly in the village," Chen said.