A group of senior citizens sing in a park at the exit of the Temple of Heaven in Bejing.

• One thing that we noticed throughout our trip was how active the elderly in China seemed to be. At every one of the cities we visited, there were always sizable groups of senior citizens in parks and other public spaces, dancing, singing, exercising on the public workout equipment, practicing tai chi, or just hanging out. There was a park right across the street from our hotel in Guangzhou, and every day, it’s filled with old people doing all sorts of activities, including a small group that had set up a tent with audio equipment and was singing Cantonese operas. We could hear it from across the road as soon as we walked out of our hotel.
• One of my aunts, who is extremely active despite being in her 70s, told me that she was a member of an organization of retirees and that the group has so many activities scheduled every week that “it’s busier than when I was working.”
• With China’s population getting older, many people are being pushed into retiring earlier than in the past in order to free up jobs for the younger generations, and some of my relatives are no exceptions (one of them told me, “Right now, it’s great to be young in China.”). As this story reports, that is creating some problems as China has virtually no pension system. In the past, it was expected that the children will take care of their parents in their old age. That expectation is still there, and as is the case with my extended family, the children are still living up to that responsibility.
• While riding on the subway one day with one of my aunts and her husband, both of whom are retired, I mentioned how active the old people in China seem to be. My aunt and uncle said that the main thing is that retirees are able to organize into large groups and keep each other busy. I think that’s partly due to the extensive public transportation system and well-maintained and often-used public spaces such as parks, making it easier for the elderly to get around and meet up. In America, many senior citizens have no real way of going anywhere without someone giving them a ride. In China, there are buses, subways, and many more walkable streets.