Inside Zhou Guozhong's home in the Tiexi district of Shenyang, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, a standing support rail, a pressure relief backrest and an anti-decubitus seat cushion have made a big difference.
Zhou, 63, said that it had been difficult to care for himself after an accident, but he now finds more comfort in his home. "The backrest can be adjusted to any angle. My body does not ache even when I sit in bed for a long time," he said.
Under an aging-in-place program launched in Shenyang in 2020, the local government paid for his home upgrades. Authorities in Shenyang provide subsidies of up to 3,000 yuan (about 420 U.S. dollars) to renovate the homes of elderly residents in difficulty -- particularly those with disabilities.
Zhang Ge, deputy director of the Shenyang Civil Affairs Bureau, highlighted the city's growing population aged 60 or older, which accounts for 30.6 percent of its total population.
"As the pressure on familial elderly care gradually increases, some small renovations can solve big problems," Zhang said. The city has already completed aging-in-place renovations on more than 10,000 homes.
Local authorities are also offering more elderly care services, such as bathing assistance, mobility assistance, and medical accompaniment services.
Wang Bin, a resident of Shenyang's Hunnan district who has been bedridden for years, is one of the program's beneficiaries. Her caregiver, Liu Lijing, visits her three to four times a week, helping her bathe, cook, clean and cut her hair.
By placing orders on Shenyang's elderly care WeChat mini-program, Wang receives these services for free. "It is like hiring a professional caregiver without having to bear the cost. It has solved a big problem for me," she said.
The Shenyang Civil Affairs Bureau procures these services through government funding, providing elderly residents with special needs or aged 80 or older with 3 to 45 hours of care per month. To date, the city has provided services to elderly residents over 1.9 million times, totaling 2.8 million hours.
The program in Shenyang is part of a nationwide effort to address China's rapidly growing elderly population.
China had more than 310 million people aged 60 or older by 2024, about 90 percent of whom want to stay at home as they age. Responding to the quickly aging population over the years, regions across the country are implementing home-based aging-in-place renovation programs and building age-friendly homes to support senior citizens.
Provinces like Zhejiang and Guizhou have rolled out trade-in programs to help elderly households purchase age-friendly products, and Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, is building age-friendly homes that elderly residents can buy or rent.
In Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the local government has opened senior canteens, and offers meal assistance services and meal delivery for elderly residents. And Tianjin's Hexi district has built a "15-minute service circle," where elderly residents can access essential services within a 15-minute walk from their homes.
The Communist Party of China Central Committee's recommendations for formulating of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for China's economic and social development call to enhance the provision of basic elderly care services, improve elderly care services networks in both urban and rural areas, and renovate more public facilities to make them age-friendly and barrier-free.
"From handrails and anti-slip mats at home to elderly canteens and community services centers, aging-in-place renovations are improving the quality of life for the elderly," said Zhang Sining, a researcher at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.
Zhang believes that the success of aging-in-place upgrades depends on continued cooperation between the government, the private sector and society. "Further improvements in hardware and services are key to enabling elderly people to enjoy their lives with dignity," Zhang said.
