China’s 100 million seniors and the fact that a large number of those seniors are empty-nesters as a result of the one-child policy are creating a booming market for senior living in China. What is less widely appreciated is how many seniors actually want to live in a seniors-only community. It has become the latest “family status symbol”… if you can afford it. I believe that language is the main barrier to attracting foreign investment to the booming private senior living market.
In a nutshell, there is no word or terminology that I am aware of in Mandarin, which matches terms in the American senior care lexicon; Continuous Care Retirement Communities, Independent Living Facilities, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing Care, etc. Instead, all of these terms are lumped into the closest English equivalent, “Nursing Home”. However, the Chinese name for Nursing Home has changed.
The origins of old people’s homes (facilities)
Then in 1992, something extraordinary happened. As individual wealth grew, people began to ask if they could pay to place their senior family members into homes even if they did not qualify for the 3 No policy. Later that year, the government accepted payment for the first time. Within four months, the entire capacity of the countries senior care facilities was taken up. The demand on the government for additional facilities was completely overwhelming.
Responding to the demand in 1995, the government allowed private sector players to develop and operate private facilities for paying seniors. The very first private facility opened in Shanghai with 200 beds. Before opening, the facility was completely pre-leased. This marked the birth of the China Private Senior Care Industry. Since then, 30,000 facilities have sprung up all over China.
In 2001, Beijing joined the game and its first private facility was opened. It was also widely successful. Now, eight years later there are over 150 private senior care facilities in Beijing.
In 2005, Beijing officials announced that they would no longer build any additional government-owned facilities and would put the burden on the private sector to provide the beds. They went further to give financial incentives, tax breaks and fast-track approvals to motivate the private developers and operators to join in.
Since 2001, the monthly rates charged to elders have shot up from the highest priced monthly bed rate of US$300 in 2001 to US$2,700 for the highest monthly bed rate in 2009. Developers are scrambling to build nicer and more luxurious 5 star senior resorts all over China. These developers are trying to cash in on the wealthy senior status trend.
Last decade the Big 3 social status buys were 1- Home, 2- Car and 3- Computer. The current Big three for social status are 1- Multiple properties, 2- Best Private School, and 3- Having a senior relative in a luxury senior resort of their senior’s choosing.
Seniors are now pressuring their children to get them a “nice place” to stay with their own age group. While working on a previous project called Silverage International, I interviewed Mrs. Lie, a 66 year old woman in Beijing with the help of an interpreter.
“My son moved to USA for his work. I asked him if I could stay here with my friends. I have the nicest place to live. I love it here.” remarked Mrs. Lie. And, why wouldn’t she? Her 49-square-meter room looks like something in a Hyatt Hotel room. She has 24 hour access to services and nurses, meals are provided for her daily, as are recreational activities, field trips, and educational seminars. She is even learning English for the first time. All this costs just US$ 1,400 per month. She left the interview to go to her Chinese traditional dance class with her friends.
I also interviewed her son Wang (also with the help of an interpreter, though Wang spoke English) who told me that this is not a “nursing home” but a “senior community.”
“Only the best for my mother,” he boasted.
After the interview, I sat back and reflected on the words and how the words describing China’s senior care industry had evolved. Just as in America, the days of the “poor folk’s home” or the “old folk’s homes” are passing by in China. If there were a USA-like Boca Raton (Florida) retirement community in China it would be jam-packed with a long waiting list to get in. I cannot even begin to imagine a wealthy Chinese son saying “No” to his mother’s request to move in to her luxury senior community to be with her friends.
If you think about it, no Chinese would ever want to put their mother in an “old folk’s home”. But, they would boast about setting her up in a US$500,000 ocean shore villa in a senior community in Dalian. The ancient Chinese tradition of “taking care of elder family members” just got a lot more expensive! Welcome to modern China.
