This aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 16, 2025 shows the plum blossoms at a village in Shexian County, Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province. (Photo by Fan Chengzhu/Xinhua)
BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Culture and tourism, science and technology, and healthcare among other relevant sectors are unleashing new vitality to boost the development of China's silver economy.
The scale of China's silver economy is expected to reach 30 trillion yuan by 2035, accounting for 10 percent of the GDP, according to a report jointly released by the China Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service, the Contemporary Social Service Research Institute, and the Social Sciences Academic Press (China).
In the future, with the growth of elderly care demand and the improvement of elderly care services, the potential of the silver-haired consumption market will be further released.
-- Robots accelerate sci-tech-driven elderly care
With the accelerated development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the robotics industry, elderly care robots have become the core direction of technological assistance for the elderly. At present, elderly care robots mainly include assistive functional exoskeleton robots, "housekeeper" humanoid robots, etc.
It is learned that with the development of cutting-edge technologies such as AI and large-scale models, many companies have accelerated the development of relevant innovative products.
The company has cooperated with multiple scenic spots to provide exoskeleton robots, said Yu Yunbo, general manager with Shenzhen Kenqing Technology Co., Ltd., adding that wearing exoskeleton robots can reduce tourists' fatigue by more than 30 percent, lower the intensity of the most difficult moments when walking, and help them walk longer.
An elderly companion robot from Seelink Technology Co., Ltd. has been piloted in multiple elderly care institutions and communities. Gao Ya, general manager of the company stated that with the formulation and introduction of domestic standards for elderly care robots, the company will focus on exploring standardization construction in the future and further consolidating the technological foundation in the areas of large models and AI.
"With the rapid development of China's robotics industry, elderly care robots are becoming a new trend in technological assistance for the elderly," Yu said, noting that in the future, different types of robots such as mobile robots and nursing robots will expand new space for the development of the silver economy.
"As a company, we will have more confidence in investing in the research and development of elderly care robots and related products. In the future, home service mobile bionic humanoid robots are expected to develop rapidly," said Li Boyang, president of DS Technologies Co., Ltd., adding that the company will focus on the emotional care needs of the elderly, further research on bionic humanoid robots, and strengthen their connection with smart home terminals to realize application in more scenarios.
-- Special trains better meet travel needs of silver-haired groups
"I am 75 years old this year, and this time I have made an appointment with a 'backpacker' from Tianjin to embark on a 12-day cross-provincial trip together on the silver-haired tourist train," said a tourist who is waiting for a silver-haired tourist train at the Beijing Fengtai Railway Station.
The train he is going to take is the first silver-haired tourist train launched in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in 2025, which will pass through Jiangxi, Hunan, and Guangdong provinces, and he can visit more than ten scenic spots along the way, according to the tourist.
He also noted that there are many friendly renovations for the elderly on the silver-haired tourist train, as well as tour guides and medical staff, and their luggage can be kept on the train throughout the entire journey and are supervised by dedicated personnel.
The on-board medical staff have rich first-aid skills and can quickly make judgments and take timely measures in emergency situations, introduced a representative from China Railway Travel Service Group Co., Ltd.
Since the beginning of this year, China Railway Xi'an Group Co., Ltd. has launched nine silver-haired tourist train trips, with an accumulated reception of over 6,500 tourists; Heilongjiang Province has launched the first silver-haired tourist train to Hong Kong and Macao in 2025; the first silver-haired tourist train for flower viewing has been launched in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, ...
The silver-haired tourist trains in many parts of China have been highly favored by elderly tourists, meeting the growing tourism needs of the elderly.
According to the China Tourism Academy, by the end of 2025, the number of young and healthy elderly people with high travel rates and high tourism consumption in China may exceed 100 million, and the revenue from silver-haired tourism is expected to surpass one trillion yuan.
Nine authorities including the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have recently jointly released an action plan clearly proposing to build a silver-haired tourist train product system that covers the whole country, and boasts diverse routes, rich themes, and comprehensive services by 2027.
The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the General Office of the State Council have also put forward in a recently-released special action plan to actively develop industries such as silver-haired tourism, in a bid to unleash the potential of the silver-haired consumption market.
Li Jia from the Pangoal Institution, a think tank, stated that by taking the opportunity of the silver-haired tourist train service and making efforts from both the supply and demand sides, the upgrading and innovation of the silver-haired cultural and tourism industry chain will be further promoted, and new market opportunities for the silver economy will be unleashed.
-- Multiple sectors tap into the potential of the silver economy
The silver economy involves a wide range of areas, a long industrial chain, and diverse business formats, providing favorable opportunities for cultivating new driving forces for economic development. According to experts, elderly care, culture and entertainment, anti-aging industries, and elderly financial products will all become new tracks of the silver economy, but it is still necessary to accurately meet the needs of silver-haired groups.
According to the above-mentioned report, with the arrival of the era of longevity, the proportion of the silver economy in the GDP will further increase, and the elderly care services, consumption of elderly products, elderly finance, health, cultural tourism and other relevant industries will usher in explosive growth.
According to TianYanCha, a commercial query platform, as of now, there are over 360,000 elderly care-related enterprises in China, and from January to March this year, there were 19,000 new related enterprises added.
The growth of the elderly care market not only demonstrates the enormous potential of the silver economy, but also reflects the urgent demand for related services and products, noted Li Jia, adding that at present, relevant enterprises mainly focus on basic elderly care services such as catering, nursing, and healthcare, but many enterprises have begun to explore new fields such as smart elderly care.
Since the beginning of this year, China has introduced a series of policies and measures to support the development of the silver economy. However, at the market level, Li Jia believes that relevant entities should continue to deepen their understanding of the diverse needs of the elderly, so as to provide targeted supplies.
Providing high-quality, premium, and accessible elderly care services for 300 million Chinese elderly is itself a huge market, and in terms of future demand, education, entertainment, tourism, and other fields related to "energetic elderly" are among the fastest-growing tracks, said Peng Xizhe, head of the Fudan Institute on Ageing.
The aging of the population, especially in the era of longevity, not only brings about changes in the population structure, but also reshapes the entire economy, society, and culture, said Wu Yushao, head of the China Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service and vice head of the Fudan Institute on Ageing, adding that it is a new social form, and almost all industries will have to transform for the aging society in the future, which implies unlimited business opportunities and potential.
(Edited by Gu Shanshan with Xinhua Silk Road, gushanshan.1987@163.com)
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