Convalescent needs create growing market

Luo Wei gives in-home service to a paralyzed resident in Beijing. [Photo by Paker Zheng / China Daily]

In 2010, Zi Nuo was faced with a tough choice.

Her 80-year-old mother was diagnosed with dementia, and Zi, in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, had to decide whether she should send her to a nursing home, or look after the elderly woman by herself.

Not trusting nursing home caregivers, Zi, who was then 49 and widowed, decided to take care of her mother by herself.

It has not been easy.

Zi had to retire early, and her life is centered around her mother - she must watch her 24 hours a day and has little personal space of her own.

Despite this, Zi considers herself lucky.

"I don't need to work for money and can live with her when she is old and needs care," Zi says.

"Not every one has such liberty."

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China now has more than 200 million people older than 60, and although there are no reliable statistics on "empty-nest" families, many seniors now live apart from their families because of the mobility of modern society.

Yet there are only 5 million nursing home beds across China, despite the total demand being as high as 10 million.

A good nursing home is either very costly or difficult to secure a place in.