Elderly care sector under strain as the country ages

New industry model proposed by leading charity foundation

A Tianjin-based foundation is proposing a new model for elderly care in poor and rural parts of China after managing two nursing homes in Wenchuan county, Sichuan province, since the devastating earthquake there in May 2008.

Officials at the Hetong Charitable Foundation for the Elderly said that elderly residents across the country, particularly the so-called empty-nest elderly - those without sons or daughters to look after them - in rural areas have been forced to turn increasingly to charitable foundations and research institutions for help.