"Old people in China are extremely frugal and unwilling to spend their money on living in an old folks home. It will need a huge publicity campaign to get people to change their attitudes. If the family or community can't provide for the old people, they can choose a home that suits them," says Yao Xue, president of Beijing's Le-Amor Home for Seniors.

"Some of the elderly people in our care have come here completely of their own choosing," says Ma Jili. One centenarian resident said something that impressed him deeply: "Living in an old folks home has been a liberation – not just for my children but for myself!"

Market-oriented

In China's old folks homes there are three modes of operation: publicly owned and run; publicly owned but privately run; and privately owned and run. Silver Age falls into the second category, belonging to Beijing's Xicheng Civil Affairs Bureau but managed by Fuxing Hospital.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, at the end of 2010, China had 19 million citizens above the age of 80, and about 38,000 homes for the aged. In November 2010, a survey organized by the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and sina.com showed that a startling 24.5 percent of the 4,000 respondents wish to live in an old folks' institution, a figure way above the 4 percent that the government anticipated.

Ever since Silver Age opened in 2003, demand for beds has always outstripped availability, and there were 50 names on the waiting list last year. Ma Jili attributes this popularity to convenient location, excellent facilities, people-focused management and first-rate service, including medical attention and reasonable prices.

As a privately owned and run home, Le-Amor is more market-focused. Although it has been in operation for less than two years, Le-Amor will break even by the second half of 2011.

The selection of site and architectural style for Le-Amor's home for the elderly was driven by market demand. Its American-style dwellings, modern but cozy, rises among the green woods below the Fragrant Hills, Beijing's very own natural "oxygen bar." More importantly perhaps, all the staff tend to the residents with smiles and warmth. As Yao describes it: "We treat the old people kindheartedly, as we would like to be treated."

Yao Xue possesses a rare combination of clinical medical qualifications and experience in real estate, and has focused on the sheltered housing market since 2006. "How to provide for the elderly is a growing area of concern since China is facing the problem of an aging population, and by 2030 the situation will have reached crisis proportions," he asserts.

"We have just introduced a card that will entitle people to live here for a total of 12 months split over three years. So they can opt for short-term residency – staying out of town with their children during certain seasons. And for people with asthma, the dry northern climate is not ideal, so a spell in the south will be good for their health."

Such considerations have Yao thinking about opening up more Le-Amor homes further south, in Shanghai and Sanya for example, so that old people can change their city and their Le-Amor residence with the season.

No Cushy Number

This year Silver Age Apartments for Senior Citizens is preparing for modifications and redecoration, installing water meters and increasing the number of beds. "It all costs money and we have to apply to the government for it," says Ma as he points to a long itemized form. "We have government investment, but we have to pay for staff, energy and other costs, so there's a lot of pressure. A hospital nurse can earn 80 yuan a day, but that's way more than the 1,000 yuan a month we can pay them, so many young people don't want to work here and our staff turnover is very high."

"Currently the aged-care service industry lacks professional personal and industrial standards in the areas of management, service and nursing," says Yao Xue. "Actually the industry does have strict professional requirements covering psychology, medical and nursing care as well as management style. But right now in China personnel training in these areas is underdeveloped – many people don't even understand what this service is."

Liu Jiahong had no concept of what an old folks home was when she impulsively applied to be taken on at Le-Amor in April 2010. "All I knew was it involved being around the elderly. Now I've learned a lot and really enjoy being with them." She feels it important to "enrich their lives by arranging lots of different activities every day, such as art, calligraphy and croquet." As if that were not enough, there are weekly performances by outside art groups and volunteers are very much encouraged.

"Too much idle time isn't a good thing," states Li, pointing to a patch of ground that is going to be dug over next year so that the residents can grow their own vegetables and flowers.

As well as being short of human resources, both Silver Age and Le-Amor have a big problem with energy consumption. Ma Jili explains the situation: "Since Silver Age has a lot of space devoted to indoor activities, our water, electricity and gas consumption is particularly high. And since we pay for these utilities based on the commercial rather than residential tariff, the bills can top one million yuan a year. If the residential tariff applied to us we could save half of that. I've tried time and again to force a rethink, but it hasn't worked."

"To save energy we have installed a solar water heating system, but other expenses are still charged on the commercial tariff, which is a great sum of money to us," says Yao Xue. "We really wish that the government would support us in this. It's no easy job to run a home for the elderly – there's a long wait before one can start recouping one's investment."

In Beijing, the occupancy rate in urban homes for the elderly is 100 percent, compared to just 50 to 60 percent in suburban developments. "The number of homes outside the city is going up and up all the time," comments Ma Jili. "But many of them fall short in terms of service and facilities, and after a short spell there many residents opt to return to an urban old folks community."