Gaga + Old Chinese folks + Macarena = Thank you, internet. more ›

If you thought that deploying geriatrics was a safe way of ensuring your protest will be a success, then think again. Malcolm Moore of the Daily Telegraph reports that on Tuesday, busloads of policemen dealt "briskly and aggressively" to clear a noisy crowd of 300 grandparents protesting outside a local court. The next day, the court sentenced activist grandmother Zhang Weiming, 65, to three and a half years jail for "organising a crowd to create a disturbance". Zhang has been spending the last eight years fighting for the rights of some 100,000 Shanghainese sent to Xinjiang in the 1960s by Chairman Mao. more ›

Two recent incidents of seniors accused of pretending to fall, then extorting money from the Good Samaritans that come by to help them up, shine as prime examples of why many Chinese people shy away from lending a helping hand to people in need that they meet on the streets. more ›

Last month, a 77-year-old woman by the name of Zhuang Jinghui stripped off all her clothes and went kneeling on the steps of the district courthouse, kowtowing to the powers that be to investigate her case. more ›

Forlorn empty nesters in the twilight of their days: shall they be content with long days parked in front of televisions, and long evenings that might include a stroll here or there, to sit on street corners and chatter? Or finding a Chinese chess game to watch, while grasping their hands behind their backs? For some elderly locals, the routine process of getting old isn't good enough, and you can find them twice a week at the Shanghai IKEA on Caoxi Road in Xuhui district, looking around for one last chance at love. more ›

This Tuesday, the Ministry of Health issued a document entitled "Technical Guidelines on Intervention When An Old Person Has Fallen Down". The set of guidelines carries no legal weight, but as its name suggests, is a list of pointers that the general public should be aware of when they encounter an elderly stranger on the ground who appears to be in need of help. The guidelines, while ostensibly meant to be an encouragement to please help people in need, was seen to have the opposite effect because of the following tip: "Do not rush to help, but manage according to the situation¹." This guideline elicited gasps of disbelief around China, because while people may hate to admit it out loud, there is the unspoken agreement that over-eagerness to assist has never really been a Chinese trait. more ›

It appears that feeling guilty about ignoring your parents isn't good enough for Chinese lawmakers. The Law Enforcement Inspection Committee, a group associated with the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, is in the process of revising the Elderly Rights and Interests Protection Law. more ›

The 1950s and rock n' roll are coming back to Shanghai with the city's first Sock Hop party. Brian Offenther, better known as DJ B.O., has teamed up with local volunteer group BEAN and organized a night of oldies music and costumes to raise money for the elderly in Shanghai. more ›

CNN's Stan Grant visits an old woman in Beijing who has been abandoned by her family and says she has lost all her will to live anymore. Heartrending, and a sign of things to come in a rapidly ageing China:
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Though our economy keeps on racing ahead, what's not captured by those record-breaking statistics are the ways other parts of our society lag behind, like the care system for the elderly and mentally impaired - there's two groups that are frequently marginalized. However, Shanghai's doing a bit more to ensure health care options are modernizing too. A recent NY Times article observes the "remarkable" shift in the care available for those with dementia. more ›

One of the more prominent traits of being culturally Chinese are the strong family bonds that come with it... or so you'd think. A recent study of the elderly in Guangdong province proves otherwise. It appears that with the onset of modern life, the traditional practice of children supporting their parents is wearing away. more ›

Any kind of holiday can make people who are away from their loved ones feel isolated, and the Mid-Autumn festival is no exception. With this in mind, we're almost about to be inundated by more mooncakes than we can eat - before you start gorging (or throw them out), spare a thought to all of the elderly folks in Shanghai by donating some of your stash to them this Mid-Autumn festival - the 22nd of September. more ›

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here). more ›

• While it's long been tradition for the elderly to be looked after by family members in China, it seems that more and more senior citizens are opting for elderly homes. [Channel News Asia]
• John Garnaut profiles Yu Jianrong, a respected Chinese scholar who has, among other things, lived as a petitioner in Beijing's petitioner village to record how problems get solved (they don't) and researched mass unrest in the country. [Sydney Morning Herald]
• ESWN translates a story of a fireworks disaster in Guangzhou Province. A rich family who had bought several hundred thousand yuan worth of fireworks (without a license, of course), ended up killing 13 people and injuring 49 when something went wrong. [EastSouthWestNorth]

• South China rains kill 20, force 700,000 from homes [Xinhua] "Torrential rains and floods in southern China have left at least 20 people dead and two missing. More than 700,000 people have been relocated as downpours have destroyed houses, flooded crops, cut power, damaged roads and caused rivers to overflow, according to the latest figures from the provinces of Hunan, Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. "
• SHANGHAI BUILDING COLLAPSE: Hundreds protest [Straits Times] "HUNDREDS of Chinese homeowners protested outside government offices in Shanghai demanding refunds after a 13-story apartment building in a complex under construction toppled over, newspapers reported on Sunday. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said the protesters marched on Saturday through central Shanghai, holding handwritten signs and chanting: 'Lotus Riverside, refund (our) homes!'"
• China apologizes to Mexico for tough swine flu stand [AFP] "China's Health Minister Chen Zhu Friday apologized to his Mexican counterpart for failing to warn him about the tough measures Beijing imposed on Mexicans to combat swine flu. "I regret that I did not talk first" to Minister Jose Angel Cordova, Chen said on the sidelines of a meeting in Cancun about the swine flu pandemic."

What would have been a 60-year-old woman was found dead in her Pudong home last week - after rotting there for roughly two years. more ›

Being the upstanding citizens that we are, we're always quick to offer our seats on public transporation to the disabled and elderly. We rarely expect anything more than a quick thanks from our beneficiary. But according to Xinmin Newspaper (新民日报）, one retired teacher has stepped his thanking up a notch and made a habit of giving a letter of gratitude to every person who's ever gotten up for him. more ›

• Chavez says world 'center of gravity' now Beijing [AP] "The world's center of gravity has moved to Beijing, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told his Chinese counterpart Wednesday during a visit focused on boosting Chinese oil purchases. The frequent U.S. critic also praised China's response to the global financial meltdown that has sent prices of his South American nation's key export, oil, down sharply."
• Auto Makers Flock to Web to Woo Chinese Buyers [WSJ] "Global auto makers think the Internet is the way into the hearts of a new generation of Chinese car enthusiasts. Both foreign and domestic auto makers here are pouring ad money into online ventures, even as their overall spending remains flat. Market-tracking firm iResearch expects outlays for online auto marketing to reach 1.75 billion yuan, or roughly $256 million, this year, up from 1.38 billion yuan in 2008."
• Professor beaten ahead of Tiananmen anniversary [ABC] "The approaching 20th anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown has brought tensions to a head, with a 75-year-old, retired professor brutally beaten for trying to honour the memory of a Chinese leader who supported the students in 1989."

We all presumed that the one-child policy was going to lead to an aging population, but there's nothing like actual numbers to prove it: 96,700 babies were born in Shanghai last year, while 107,000 people died, according to an official report. more ›

• A 23 year old woman has been charged in Minhang District for attempted extortion for allegedly trying to extort 500,000 yuan from her boss after she saw a love letter on his computer.
• Great news for families of migrant workers here: Children without a Shanghai hukou can now apply to the local education administration to receive education.
• Over 100 fare dodgers on the Shanghai subway were caught and fined the maximum penalty of RMB45 during a four-hour crackdown yesterday. Maybe if the maximum penalty were a little higher, people would think twice next time.

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here). more ›

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here). more ›

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here). more ›

In this video Al Jazeera reports on two elderly Beijing residents who tried to organize protests against evictions in the capital. For these women, who are both in their 70s, this has had far reaching consequences. more ›

Our parents and sister just visited China for the first time. We won’t bore you with the details on what we did in Shanghai, but since many of you are hosting visitors and/or visiting China for the first time for the Olympics, here are some of the highlights from our travels to Beijing including suggestions for elderly and disabled (something we couldn't find anywhere else online). more ›

... and that is a conservative estimate, writes Bernie Leo of Shanghai Daily. more ›

Anhui Television has uncovered the story of Tao Xing (陶星), a 16-year-old student from Yueyang, Hunan Province, who has recently come under the spotlight for his loving care of his mother. more ›

The couple promised to pay Ma 100,000 yuan as reward for a child and 150,000 yuan if there were twins and they paid Ma 3000 yuan every month after they made the agreement. Ma tried artificial insemination in October 2006 but this failed and the doctors said she was probably not suitable. However the doctors said they would try once again later.