Chinese change perceptions of nursing homes

In the past, the idea of living in a nursing home during one's twilight years was viewed negatively by Chinese, as it indicated lonely and sick later years of life.

Yet the idea of nursing homes for the elderly is changing.

For the residents of Yanda Golden Age Health Nursing Center in Langfang, Hebei province, Yanda truly is home.

The center, opened in 2010 and equipped with a private hospital, is about two hours' drive from downtown Beijing.

Zhou Guoqiang, a 82-year-old retired professor from Beijing Jiaotong University, has lived in the center with his wife since 2011.

The couple lives in a Chinese-style apartment that they moved to three years ago, and this is their fifth year of living in nursing homes. They have five children, all of whom live and work in downtown Beijing.

"We talked about spending our later years in life in nursing homes many years ago," Zhou said. "Our children support our decision. They were a bit concerned, but that's all. Children have lives of their own. We also have a life of our own. For us, it feels natural to live in a nursing home like this. It's quiet, convenient and safe."

Nurses at the center visit the couple to examine their blood pressure each morning and make adjustments to their diets according to the couple's health. It costs the couple about 5,500 yuan ($890) per month, which covers their basic nursing fees as well as accommodation.

Zhou still has some complaints.

"For example, we still cook with gas in our kitchen," he said. "It's very dangerous for people over 80-years-old to use gas, because we are very likely to forget to turn it off. If that happens, it could be life-threatening."

The Yanda center has more than 400 guests like Zhou in residence. About 100 require 24-hours care.

"About half of our guests came to us on their own, and half came as couples. Only about one-third of our guests have children who are now living abroad," said Guo Zhishuang, director of the health and medical department of the center. "The majority of them are over 80-years-old, and the most common diseases include cardiovascular disease and diabetes. That's why nurses need to do rounds every morning and in the afternoons."

On the afternoon of March 21, a group of China Daily reporters and staff paid a visit to the elderly residents at the nursing home. It was also to pay a special visit to 89-year-old Deng Aizhu, who worked at China Daily since 1981 when the paper was founded.

The center was holding a birthday celebration for 20 guests that day whose birthdays fall in March.

Zhang Hui, one of the marketing staff at the center, said they have organized birthday celebrations for the guests every month since 2013.

While the center also provides art and calligraphy classes, the monthly birthday celebrations mostly feature singing and dancing performances by the elderly residents.

Zhou and his wife joined the party and watched the performances. As some of their friends and the young reporters performed on the stage, Zhou tried to capture the moments with a white iPad Mini his granddaughter gave him last year.

"It's great to see young people here," Zhou said happily. "I spent quite a lot of time with young people when I was teaching at university, and I do miss that."

The retired professor needed help with a problem he earlier failed to solve himself. When the China Daily reporters visited, he was eager to ask how to use the video function on his device, as his granddaughter forgot to teach him how to do so.

"It would be much nicer if we had more young people around to interact with," he said.