The Changing Face of Growing Old in China

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Outside the Xing Bao Zhonghuan“senior living community” on a mild spring day in Shanghai recently,an old lady was riding a tricycle around the forecourt1forecourt大片空地（在加油站、旅館等前面，常用來(lái)停車(chē)）。,and a group of spry2spry充滿生氣的；敏捷的。elders were performing tai chi exercises to a video playing on a television.

After that,there would be half an hour of “finger exercises”,plus an after-lunch lesson in how to paint a chicken,using traditional Chinese brush techniques.

不久前一個(gè)和煦的春日，上海星堡中環(huán)“養(yǎng)老社區(qū)”門(mén)外，一個(gè)老年婦女正繞著前院騎三輪車(chē)，還有一群身姿矯健的老人在跟著電視錄像練習(xí)太極。

之后會(huì)有半小時(shí)的“手指操”，午飯之后還要學(xué)習(xí)用中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)水墨技法畫(huà)小雞。

[2]There was hardly a wheelchair to be seen,and no one who looked like a nurse.This was the kind of eldercare facility that many industry analysts predicted would not be popular in China,where demand was forecast to be highest for heavily medicalised facilities where seniors would go to be cared for round-the-clock—not to ride tricycles.

[2]這里幾乎看不到輪椅，也沒(méi)有護(hù)士。許多行業(yè)分析人士曾表示此類(lèi)養(yǎng)老院在中國(guó)不會(huì)受到青睞，他們預(yù)測(cè)需求量最大的是高度醫(yī)療化的養(yǎng)老機(jī)構(gòu)，老人們?cè)谀抢锬軌蛳硎苋旌虻淖o(hù)理服務(wù)，而不是踩三輪車(chē)。

[3]China’s one-child policy has skewed3skew走偏；歪曲。its population toward the grey end,presenting a demographic opportunity for the eldercare industry.By 2030,the proportion of the population over 65 could have doubled to 18 per cent,according to UN data.By mid-century,China could have nearly 500m people aged over 60—more than the population of the US.

[3]中國(guó)的獨(dú)生子女政策導(dǎo)致人口老化，為養(yǎng)老行業(yè)帶來(lái)機(jī)遇。聯(lián)合國(guó)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，到2030年，65歲以上人群所占比例將增長(zhǎng)一倍，達(dá)到18%。至本世紀(jì)中期，中國(guó)60歲以上人口將接近5億，超過(guò)美國(guó)人口總數(shù)。

[4]Though there is a shortage of hospital beds for Chinese pensioners needing long-term care or mediumterm rehabilitation,retirement homes that provide significant medical services have unexpectedly proved less popular than facilities where seniors live independently,and receive little nursing.

[4]雖然醫(yī)院床位難以滿足退休人員長(zhǎng)期護(hù)理和中期康復(fù)的需求，但出人意料的是，比起提供大量醫(yī)療服務(wù)的養(yǎng)老機(jī)構(gòu)，護(hù)理服務(wù)相對(duì)較少、老人獨(dú)立生活的養(yǎng)老社區(qū)更受歡迎。

[5]Foreign-invested eldercare providers say they have run up against barriers,from culture to cost,that have made it hard to fill even a few hundred beds in a city the size and wealth of Shanghai,with more than 3.5m people of retirement age.

[5]外資養(yǎng)老機(jī)構(gòu)表示，他們遇到了從文化到成本等方方面面的障礙。在上海這樣一個(gè)擁有超過(guò)350萬(wàn)退休老人的富裕大都市，區(qū)區(qū)幾百?gòu)埓参欢己茈y住滿。

[6]Previously,in this culture heavily influenced by Confucian notions of filial piety,“you would think that sending your elder to a nursing home in China—it’s unheard of”,says Michael Li,Executive Director of Cascade Healthcare,which has two senior housing facilities in Shanghai.“But as the society progresses,more and more people don’t have any choice but to accept reality: we have to work,we commute,we have our kids,”he adds.And with more only children marrying other only children,there are fewer young people to care for each elder.

[6]以前，儒家孝道思想對(duì)中國(guó)文化影響深遠(yuǎn)。“你會(huì)覺(jué)得把老人送到養(yǎng)老院是件‘聞所未聞’的事情。”李·邁克說(shuō)道，他是凱健國(guó)際老年康復(fù)護(hù)理機(jī)構(gòu)的執(zhí)行董事，該公司在上海開(kāi)辦了兩家養(yǎng)老院，“但是隨著社會(huì)進(jìn)步，越來(lái)越多的人別無(wú)選擇，只能接受現(xiàn)實(shí)：我們需要工作，需要出去上班，自己還有孩子。”而且夫妻雙方都是獨(dú)生子女的情況越來(lái)越普遍，每個(gè)子女得照顧更多的老人。

[7]But price is an issue: an average room in the Xuhui facility can cost Rmb10,000 ($1,600)a month or more,and as much as Rmb15,000 per month more for nursing care.Many Chinese elders,raised in times of famine and political upheaval,have led a frugal life and would rather leave behind their money than spend it.Middle-aged children are often able and willing to pay,but Mr Li says that “some families insist we don’t tell the parents how much it costs...or they won’t stay”.

[7]不過(guò)，價(jià)格是個(gè)問(wèn)題：位于徐匯區(qū)的這家養(yǎng)老機(jī)構(gòu)，一個(gè)普通房間的月租金達(dá)1萬(wàn)元人民幣（合1600美元），甚至更高，而且每月護(hù)理費(fèi)也高達(dá)1.5萬(wàn)元。很多中國(guó)老年人經(jīng)歷過(guò)饑荒和政治動(dòng)蕩，一輩子生活節(jié)儉，寧愿把錢(qián)留給子女也不肯自己花掉。他們的子女已經(jīng)人到中年，通常有能力也心甘情愿為父母花這筆錢(qián)。但李先生表示：“一些家庭堅(jiān)決不讓我們告知老人費(fèi)用是多少……否則老人就不愿意住了。”

[8]And even at levels that he admits“shock” some locals unused to the high costs of eldercare in developed societies,Cascade is not making money.“We aren’t even talking about a return yet;we are just trying to stop the losses,” he says.Beijing has encouraged private retirement home operators to fill the gap in senior care,even offering incentives to local operators.But state insurance will not pay for private care,and Chinese seniors often do not trust private healthcare.

[8]李先生自己也承認(rèn)，一些本地人不適應(yīng)發(fā)達(dá)社會(huì)高昂的老年護(hù)理費(fèi)用，對(duì)收費(fèi)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)感到“震驚”，可是即便如此，凱健國(guó)際仍不賺錢(qián)。李先生說(shuō)：“我們甚至還沒(méi)開(kāi)始考慮贏利，現(xiàn)在只是在努力止損。”中國(guó)政府鼓勵(lì)私營(yíng)機(jī)構(gòu)填補(bǔ)養(yǎng)老服務(wù)的空缺，甚至針對(duì)本地經(jīng)營(yíng)者出臺(tái)鼓勵(lì)措施。但私營(yíng)護(hù)理服務(wù)產(chǎn)生的費(fèi)用不在國(guó)家保險(xiǎn)范圍之內(nèi)，中國(guó)老人也常常對(duì)私營(yíng)醫(yī)療保健缺乏信任。

[9]“Some groups are offering a highly medical product...comparable with a skilled nursing facility in the US.The challenge is that you need to charge between Rmb15,000 and Rmb20,000 a month just to cover operations and Rmb25,000 to Rmb30,000 to make any money,and that is not where the market is for private pay long-term care in China,”says Chris Alberti,co-founder of Cascade.

[9]凱健國(guó)際聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人克里斯·阿爾伯蒂說(shuō)：“一些機(jī)構(gòu)提供高級(jí)醫(yī)療護(hù)理服務(wù)……可以媲美美國(guó)的專業(yè)護(hù)理中心。可問(wèn)題在于，要想收回運(yùn)營(yíng)成本，定價(jià)就要達(dá)到每月1.5萬(wàn)至2萬(wàn)元人民幣；想要贏利，就得收費(fèi)2.5萬(wàn)至3萬(wàn)元人民幣。這不符合中國(guó)市場(chǎng)對(duì)私人長(zhǎng)期護(hù)理的價(jià)格需求。”

[10]But Zhang Fengguan,65,is certain that Xing Bao Zhonghuan is worth the money.

“At first my son strongly objected because he thought it was not filial to send an elder to a place such as this.But this is just an inevitable choice for us.My son is an only child,he has a 14-year-old daughter,he is busy with his own work and looking after her...the only problem is the price here is a bit high.But we have been living a hard life our entire lifetime.It think it’s reasonable now for us to have something great.”

[10]但是65歲的張鳳冠（音譯）確信星堡中環(huán)物有所值。

“一開(kāi)始我兒子強(qiáng)烈反對(duì)，覺(jué)得把老人送進(jìn)養(yǎng)老院這種地方是大不孝。但我們別無(wú)選擇。我只有這么一個(gè)兒子，他有個(gè)14歲的女兒需要照顧，還要忙于工作……唯一的問(wèn)題就是這里價(jià)格有點(diǎn)偏高。但我們過(guò)了一輩子苦日子，現(xiàn)在也該享享福了。”

[11]Some officials believe that the problems facing China’s elderly can be solved through combined efforts from family,the local community,and society as a whole.China’s goal is to establish a support network for senior citizens that provides medical care and helps them avoid loneliness through scholarly pursuits and entertainment.The network would also encourage senior citizens to continue serving society after retirement age by using the knowledge they’ve acquired over the years.■

[11]一些官員相信，只要各個(gè)家庭、當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)和整個(gè)社會(huì)齊心協(xié)力，中國(guó)人口老齡化帶來(lái)的各種問(wèn)題便能得以解決。中國(guó)致力于建立養(yǎng)老支持網(wǎng)絡(luò)，既能為老年人提供醫(yī)療保健服務(wù)，又能幫助他們通過(guò)課程學(xué)習(xí)和娛樂(lè)活動(dòng)排遣孤獨(dú)。這種機(jī)制還鼓勵(lì)老人在退休后利用多年來(lái)積累的知識(shí)繼續(xù)服務(wù)社會(huì)。□