Seniors set out on road to new horizons

Honoring loved ones

Zhang, who got her driver's license in September, didn't get off to a smooth start.

After she signed up with a driving school in May 2021, she took the written exam three times but failed on each occasion. She cried on the way home every time.

To pass the written test, examinees have to score 90 points out of 100.

The pretest study booklet for the exam contains 1,583 questions, consisting of multiple-choice or true-false alternatives, and the test consists of 100 questions randomly selected out of the total.

"I failed my first written test, and cried all the way home on the subway," Zhang said. "When I got home, I began thinking about what I had done wrong and reviewed the content the instructor had told us in class."

During training days, Zhang took the school's shuttle bus at 6:50 am, usually with 70 to 80 mostly younger people and two or three seniors like herself.

Zhang said she likes being with young people and hearing them compliment her.

"When I first waited for the shuttle at the stop, a young woman said hello and invited me to sit with her on the bus. She said I am about the same age as her mother, and she admired me for learning to drive at my age, which made me proud," she said.

She passed an initial road driving test at the fourth attempt, and an advanced road test at the second attempt. In July, she passed the written exam about safe, civilized driving at the first attempt, and got her license in August.

Initially, Zhang's daughter, a nurse at the Peking University People's Hospital, disagreed with her decision, saying it would be too dangerous to drive at her age.

However, Zhang persisted, believing that being able to drive would make life more convenient.

She is competitive and straightforward by nature. She enjoyed singing and dancing when she was young, and has a lot of friends.

After retiring from a State-owned factory at age 45, she landed a job as an assistant financial manager at a real estate company.

Now, she helps out in her community's subdistrict office, and is willing to help whenever neighbors, including security guards, need her assistance.

Her husband, who died of cancer seven years ago, was a professional driver, which is one of the reasons Zhang was interested in learning to drive.

"On Tomb Sweeping Day 2021, when I got home from his grave, I thought 'I want to learn to drive'," she said. "I didn't know when I would get my full license, but I understood that I would have to work hard and be prepared. I was very happy when I got it. If my husband were here, he would be exhilarated and he would definitely congratulate me."

Aging society

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in January show that 280 million people — 19.8 percent of the population — were age 60 or older.

It predicted that by the end of 2035, 300 million people will be age 60 and older, more than 20 percent of the population. That will mean that one in every four Chinese will be a senior.

According to the United Nations standards, a country is defined as "aging" when more than 10 percent of its population is age 60 or older, and "aged" when the proportion is 20 percent or higher. As China's population ages rapidly, every aspect of society will be altered.

Zhang Fu, 36, an instructor for the road test, has been teaching people to drive for 11 years. He said the number of seniors rose after the age restriction was scrapped.

"Since 2020, for every 20 to 30 students, there is always one age 60 or older," he said, adding that teaching older people requires great patience and he often needs to repeat key points.

"Unlike young people, who can remember the content after one or two explanations, older students need more guidance during training. I always need to guide seniors, to equip them with knowledge and skills as they learn step by step."

"Older students are always more anxious when gaining new knowledge. As an instructor, I help them rationalize their feelings in an attempt to study the new skills clearly. As a matter of fact, older people take driving more seriously than younger folk."

Contact the writer at xinwen@chinadaily.com.cn