Documentary series casts glow on growing old

Love and freedom

This is also the reason the eternal theme of love was chosen for the first episode Love in Ikea, which proves that love conquers all, according to Fan.

"We try to discuss the lifelong need for intimacy and the cafeteria in Ikea in Shanghai, a well-known dating spot, was the perfect setting for our first episode," Fan says.

For more than a decade, the Ikea store has been a popular dating venue for elderly lovebirds like A Bao, according to the episode's director Chen Zifan.

He has been divorced three times. His first wife was diagnosed schizophrenia and their marriage ended after 18 years. He married a second time, which ended after eight years as it was not happy. His third wife, who was wheelchair bound, passed away in a nursing home.

Renting an apartment in the suburbs of Shanghai with a pension of 8,000 yuan ($1,100) per month, A Bao has been pursuing one of the most beautiful women in the cafeteria, who he has nicknamed Yamaguchi Momoe for her likeness to the Japanese actress, for the last three years. However, he has failed in his attempts so far.

"I used to think of it as a love-without-a-future story and couldn't understand why he kept saying that he knew she couldn't love him back, but still wanted to take care of her. Gradually, I learned that love is not something that you can repress or control," Chen wrote in her director's log, adding that A Bao's dedication to looking for his Mrs Right illustrates the resilience and vitality of older adults on-screen, reminding us that it's never too late for new beginnings.

"We usually think that Chinese are too shy to say 'I love you' but the seniors we have filmed show how romantic they still are," Chen says.