15 May 2012

twists in the park

When they're not in their nursing homes, or browsing the digital highway, elderly are often found in the parks. This is one of the many things they do: they dance! With the speakers blasting, they twist & twirl in dusk and dawn. It's Latin dances, waltzes, and self-invented pirouettes. 


Aging is a bit of a problem in China. With the one-child policy coming into effect in the '70's of last century, the expansion of the population has slowed down and shown even negative growth in some areas. Four grandparents, two parents, and only one little emperor to take care of all six of them. It's a heavy burden on the shoulders of the young work force. The current fertility rate in Shanghai is the world's lowest at 0.7, below the level to maintain a healthy population.

One phenomenon related to the aging population are the health shops that you see everywhere. Inside these little shops are lectures about the human body, people getting dialysis, full body check up, etc. And of course, these shops are in the park...

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