RIPE OLD AGE: One of thousands of China's centenarians.GUILAN (China News), December 20, 2007:
Zhao Baohua, a senior official from China Longevity Research Association, said in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region that China has entered the longevity era.
As Chinese people’s life expectancy prolonged, China now has 17 thousand centenarians.
Yongfu County in Guangxi and Mayang Miao Autonomous County in Hunan Province were listed as China’s “land of longevity”. The average life expectancy in Mayang is 75.6 years, and there are 45 centenarians in every 350 thousand people.
The county has set up a comprehensive healthcare system, which guarantees every centenarian gets a monthly pension of 200 yuan, the official said.
Yongfu County has made it a rule to offer all its old people free medical care service, and to hold celebration for each centenarian’s birthday and this has made Yongfu famous in the world.
The selection of China’s “land of longevity” started in 2005, and it has strict standards.
Life expectancy should be higher than national average, and people above 80 should form 1.4% of the town’s total population.
Editor:Sharon Lee
Source:红网综合
