Residents at China's first retirement home for the blind sing, travel and even find love

Thoughtful planning and support ensure they feel safe and are not isolated

- Aw Cheng Wei

SHENYANG/CHONGQING - Outside a white building in Shenyang city, elderly people, most of them with thin scarves or hoodies covering their heads to prevent sunburn, can often be seen walking along its periphery.

Their eyes appear closed and they hold on to handrails at the side of the building as they walk briskly along.

Welcome to China's first retirement home for the blind, Haiman Yisheng, where extra support is provided for its residents on their daily walks.

The home has been held up as a prime example of specialized eldercare in China as demand grows for centers that cater to specific needs of a rapidly aging population.

China has one of the world's fastest-growing aging populations, according to the World Health Organization, with the proportion of the population aged above 60 projected to reach 28 per cent by 2040.

There are some 17 million in the country living with a form of sight disability as at end-2023. Other specialized eldercare homes in China include those set up for patients with Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

Haiman Yisheng director Zhang Yu told The Sunday Times that centers such as hers reflect "the changing needs of China's elderly who have grown up in a society that no longer worries about food and other basic necessities".

"The elderly in China are no longer satisfied with the traditional and straightforward provision of care offered by older generations of retirement homes," she said.

Much thought went into the design of Haiman Yisheng, which was set up in 2019.

Residents are assigned specific seats in the cafeteria at tables for four, which have residents' names in print and in Braille on the corners. This helps them settle down for meals quickly.

Each dish - vegetables, rice, meat and soup - is served on different types of crockery so that residents can better identify what they are eating.