Elderly people in a gym in Rudong maintain their physical fitness by playing table tennis, and after this Chinese city was a model for the one-child policy, it is now one of the areas with the highest percentage of elderly people in China.
The port city north of Shanghai has witnessed a slow rise in its population since the 1980s, to the point where people over the age of 60 now make up 39% of its population, compared to 18.7% nationally.
An indication of these major demographic changes is that an abandoned former school has become a place for weeds to grow, while a local university provides tutoring for the elderly.
According to the United Nations, India has become the most populous country in the world, ahead of China, whose population decreased last year for the first time in 6 decades.
At the end of a street lined with crumbling buildings in Rudong, the local ping-pong club is packed with old people blaring balls.
“A large number of people go to this place to maintain their physical fitness, in a move that is better than staying at home and playing cards,” says Fu Yaping, 56, who founded the club in 2011, which is a common activity in the region.
Yaping’s son had moved to the city in search of a job, and like him, he did a lot in a phenomenon that China witnessed in recent decades, which contributes to emptying the countryside and small towns of its population.
Yaping says about her son, “He has a son,” and he does not plan to have another child, adding, “Having children represents a great burden at the current stage,” referring to the cost of education.
demographic challenges
Zhou, a 60-year-old member of the club and a retired employee of the telecommunications company China Telecom, points out the difficulties faced by Chinese youth in the labor market.
He added, “The situation is not similar to what our generation experienced. At that stage, the state was providing jobs for young people, but today, the Chinese are looking for jobs themselves.”
And Rudong serves as a laboratory for the demographic challenges facing China. The problem in this regard is delicate because the aging of the population is coupled with the exodus of the young to the cities.
The 2021 census shows that the total population of Rodong is about 880,000, which is about 116,000 less than the previous number.
China launched its birth control policy in the late 1970s to avoid a population explosion.
However, a number of flexible decisions have allowed couples since 2016 to have 3 children, but the advantages of these decisions are not yet felt.
The fertility rate in China was very low last year, at 1.2 children per woman.
The aging population weighs heavily on young Chinese, because families often have one son, and he must take care of elderly family members on his own, without the help of a brother or sister.
Feeling less stressed
The increase in the number of elderly people is putting pressure on the health insurance and pension system as well.
It is common in China for the elderly, especially those who are not physically fit, to move in with their children. A number of Rudong residents, speaking to Agence France-Presse, confirm that they want to keep fit to avoid a similar decision.
“If our health is good, our children will feel less stressed,” says Wang Jianhua, 67, who plays croquet. “Our participation in such activities is beneficial for both us and them.”
Peng, 74, graduated from the campus of a local university where she took lessons while riding her bicycle and chatting with a female colleague.
“Because of the Cultural Revolution, we did not go to school at the time,” she says, referring to the political turmoil in China between 1966 and 1976, when many young men were sent to the countryside to learn the peasant way of life.
Peng takes lessons in Chinese literature and opera.
“We are having fun and learning at the same time,” she says, adding, “We still live a busy life.”