GUANGZHOU: The population in Guangdong province is expected to age most rapidly between 2015 and 2035, and the next five years will prove vital in stepping up facilities for the elderly, local officials said.

At present, according to incomplete statistics, investments in real estate for elderly care from various investors have exceeded RMB 210 billion. In September 2013, the State Council issued Several Opinions regarding Speeding up Development of Elderly Care Services, specifically providing that preferential and supporting policies should be established and perfected, investment should be increased and construction of an elderly care service system of Chinese characteristics should be promoted.

In a senior-living facility in south Shanghai, a volunteer leads a dozen people in singing and moving their bodies to the rhythms of a song. It’s not an unusual activity for a senior-care center in the United States. But such specialized housing for the elderly is not widespread in China.

Both the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and Ministry of Civil Affairs clearly have highlighted the senior-care industry as the focus of the work in 2015. At the 2015 national video conference on civil affairs held on December 25, Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo said: “Next year we will keep making efforts to accelerate the development of senior-care industry through concrete measures to promote the overall reform of the industry and carrying out pilot restructuring in state-run senior-care facilities, so as to ensure that we realize the goal of 30 nursing home beds per thousand seniors in 2015.”

Rising number of over-60s creates challenges as low returns put off possible investors Editor's note: Beijing's population is aging, and the city is investing in various services catering to the elderly. China Daily examines the efforts being made.

BEIJING -- China has set a goal to secure 30 nursing home beds per 1,000 people at or above the age of 60 by the end of 2015, up from the current 25.43, as the quickly growing aging population strains elderly care services.

Panasonic Corp. said Wednesday that it has developed a nursing-care robot that helps the elderly walk or get out of bed. Osaka-based Panasonic said it plans to start the sale of the robots to hospitals and nursing-care facilities in the business year starting in April 2016.

Being the largest real estate market in the world, China will also become the largest real estate market for the old-aged in the world. However, from a holistic perspective, the elderly real estate industry in China is just getting off the ground and facing many issues. For example, the valid rigid demand is not balanced, the profit model is not clear, and the industry chain is not yet formed.

BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The government needs to allocate more funds for elderly care homes and encourage private enterprises to operate them to tackle the increasing aging population problem, says an article on guancha.gmw.cn. Excerpts:

TIANJIN, March 13 (Xinhua) -- In-home nursing is emerging as a new choice in easing the pressure of China's aging population. This week, the Chengguan District Virtual Nursing Home in Lanzhou City of northwest China's Gansu Province announced that it will incorporate more healthcare options as the services of this in-home care agency enjoy growing popularity.

More land has to be made available for the building of elderly service facilities in China, according to a regulation unveiled on Monday.

The recent report of Research on Development Strategy for Elderly Care Industry in China 2014 analyzed and pointed out that, the growth speed of Chinese population had been effectively controlled from the early 21st century to date, but under the momentum of the population growth, the number of people aged above 65 still reached 7% of the total population in 2000, which was the international redline of an ageing society.

BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The official website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) on Tuesday published a circular to encourage foreign investment in China's elderly care services.

Mobile phones which can measure blood glucose attract attention of visitors at an exhibition in Beijing. LEI KESI/CHINA DAILY The Beijing municipal government has joined forces with Baidu Inc, one of China's biggest Internet companies, to take health management to the next level by launching Jiankangyun, a health cloud that uses big data technology to offer pre-diagnosis assessments for users. The health cloud service was introduced in late July and, according to Baidu, offers three levels.

Technology based on the Internet of Things has worked its way onto consumer devices. When can we expect it to cross over to healthcare?