Southern cities dominate latest list of places friendly to elderly

A study of 150 cities across China has shown that southern coastal cities are more age-friendly than those in the north.

Biaozhun Ranking, a research institute based in Beijing, has released its latest Top 50 Age-friendly Chinese Cities list, with the popular tourist resort of Xiamen in Fujian province ranking first.

Among the top 50, 39 cities are located in the southern part of China. Zhejiang province has eight cities on the list, Guangdong province has six, and Jiangsu province has five.

All of the top 10 cities are on China's south coast.

The sample was based on the 2014 annual report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on urban competitiveness.

"We thought age-friendly cities should meet the standard of livable cities, so we chose the top 150 Chinese cities from the CASS report as the basic sample," said a statement from Biaozhun Ranking.

CASS had selected the 150 cities from 292 on the Chinese mainland. Other factors considered were an index of air quality, medical treatment, traffic and transportation.

This is the second year Biaozhun Ranking has released the list, although last year's winner, Lijiang in Yunnan province, did not make it into the top 10 this year.

Compared with last year's ranking, there was a significant change. China's first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guanzhou and Shenzhen all made the list. Last year, Beijing was not selected for the top 50 because of its air pollution. This year, it was ranked 38th, thanks to an improvement in air quality.

Du Peng, director of the Institute of Gerontology at Renmin University of China, said it was not fair to say the southern part of China was more suitable for elders to live in.

"Generally, we would say southern cities are better because of the natural environment and climate. However, that is only one part of the story," said Du. "To consider whether a city is really age-friendly, more indexes should be included."

Du said that a city that is truly friendly to elders should include community spirit, a good social atmosphere and facilities to help elders be involved in society.

"Natural environment and climate is basic. However, more emphasis should be put on the social environment," added Du.

"For example, there should be enough public space for elders to exercise, enough education resources for elders to learn, and respect for elders in daily life."

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn