Community links help keep residents happy in city

The Yunlin Life Apartment community provides a friendly environment and considerate services to elderly residents. [Photo/China Daily]

Andreas Jager, general manager of the Yunlin Elderly Care Service Co at the facility said the focus is on "living a happy life".

"First of all, happiness is universal... People in the Netherlands want to be happy when they are old and people in China want to be happy when they are old. But of course, there are some cultural differences in how you feel happiness," he said.

The approach to happiness can also incorporate how medical care is given, which is an important aspect of elder care in China but also a major challenge for the industry, Jager said.

For example, it's hard to come across patients who say, "I feel happy now because I've had a treatment or an injection" Jager said.

"I only hear things that, 'oh, it was a good activity, or I met new people'. That is making people happy. So those are areas we have to change a little bit."

There are doctors and physiotherapists who can help people do chores and exercises, but "it may be to walk a dog. It's cheaper, but it's also nicer," he said.

"To do activities like dancing ... that gives the elderly more self-esteem and more happiness, than when you taking the medical path" he said. And when it's necessary to see a doctor, you have to take a nurse to help you."

Hua Wei, vice-president of Sujia, said the group is involved in many advanced technologies and fields such as big data and real estate, but its focus is still on "high-end elder care services" "Whether it's healthcare or cultural tourism, we want to make life and living better," he said.

Xu Caibin, 48, said she moved to the complex two years ago and also bought a 70-sq-m apartment because it was near the school her daughter attended. There were many opportunities to interact with older residents and neighbors.

"It is a more caring environment here and people are well taken care of" said Xu, who works in the financial industry and volunteers in elder care services at the facility.

Home advantage

Wuxi itself is located south of Jiangsu and at the Yangtze River Delta Plain. With the mighty Yangtze River to the north, Taihu Lake to the south, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal running through it, Wuxi is a major waterside town.

Known as the "Pearl of Taihu Lake" the city covers more than 4,600 square kilometers. It had a permanent population of over 6.59 million by the end of 2019 and currently administers the two county-level cities of Jiangyin and Yixing, five districts of Liangxi, Xishan, Huishan, Binhu and Xinwu, as well as the Wuxi Economic Development Zone.

Wuxi has long been known as a cultural city at the south bank of the Yangtze River, recording more than six millennia of human civilization, three millennia of written records and 2.5 millennia of urban history, with its rich cultural heritage drawing talent in great numbers.

The city continues to maintain a successful balance between culture and industry as well as the ancient and modern.

In 2019, Wuxi registered a GDP of more than 1.19 trillion yuan ($177 billion), an increase of 6.7 percent year-on-year. The city has topped overall satisfaction ratings in national public service quality measurements and has been rated one of the most liveable cities in the Chinese mainland for three consecutive years.

Fourteen of the country's top 500 companies, 30 of its top 500 manufacturing companies and 15 of its top 500 service companies call Wuxi home.

Yunlin resident Yin Yueqin, whose family members visit her regularly, said she certainly does not feel lonely in her new city. Yunlin apartment complex employees often help her cope with the changes in daily life, such as keeping up with digital technology and smartphone apps to pay for utilities and other bills.

"I'm healthy and happy. I even get to use the shuttle bus service here to visit the malls in the city at least twice a week," she said.