Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, is dubbed the panda capital of the world. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province which has been dubbed one of the "Happiest City in China," is accelerating its community-based elderly care service in a bid to boost the residents' well-being.
Local resident, Hou Qian, said that with a history of over 4,500 years and now acting as a semi-provincial level city administering 12 districts, five county-level cities and three counties, Chengdu is also called the panda capital of the world.
In Xindu district, the Guihu sub-district has prioritized catering to the multifaceted needs of the elderly by refining and enhancing its community-based elderly care service system.
By focusing on accessibility and convenience, the sub-district has improved community-based home care, raising the quantity of service facilities, the capacity of service quality and the efficiency of the services market, Hou said.
To date, a variety of elderly care models have emerged in Guihu, covering multi-layered elderly care, diverse meal assistance programs and smart home care services — all within the vicinity of residents' homes.
For years, Chengdu has been a symbol for the Tianfu culture — the manifestation of Chengdu's mainstream urban values and the Ba-Shu civilization — the regional cultures of the Sichuan Basin, and is known for the residents' leisure life.
A notable innovation in Guihu is its diversified meal assistance service, operated through collaboration between State-owned enterprises and community canteens.
Guided by government policies and run independently, this initiative leverages unused community resources to establish canteens, such as the 3X-in Yuting Community Canteen and 3X-in Sangyuanxiang Community Canteen, which not only provide meal assistance but also contribute an additional 50,000 yuan ($7,042) each year for community development and governance.
Addressing the "elderly care + healthcare" needs of specific elderly groups, Guihu has introduced professional elderly care institutions that operate on a smart platform.
The platform allows family members to "place orders," enterprises to "accept orders" and communities to "supervise orders," facilitating the convenient and high-quality services such as meal assistance, transportation, cleaning and medical care.
So far this year, a total of 5,668 such orders were completed, benefiting 585 residents.
Guihu remains committed to creating a fulfilling life for the elderly, ensuring that they are well taken care of, entertained, educated, and engaged in meaningful activities, Hou said.
The megacity needs a better living environment to support people's well-being, said Liu Li, director of the Spatial Planning Branch at Chengdu Natural Resources Survey and Utilization Research Institute.
With a forest coverage of 40.5 percent as well as 1,500 parks dotting in the city, Chengdu has seen its number of days with good air quality to 300 days so far each year, up from 132 days a decade ago, according to figures from the publicity department in the city.
