Beijing to build massive downtown nursing home (2)

Chaoyang District plans to have 78 nursing homes by the end of 2015, which almost doubles the current number.

Figures provided by Beijing's Civil Affairs Bureau show the city's nursing homes have some 82,000 beds for senior citizens, but only about half of them are taken.

The openings are mostly available in remote suburbs, which can be inconvenient for family members to visit.

Regardless of the openings, the bureau maintains that Beijing's senior care capacity still lags far behind demand, estimated between 120,000 and 150,000 beds, or almost three for every 100 citizens aged 60 or above.

China had 190 million people at or above the age of 60 at the end of last year, according to the China National Committee on Aging. It is estimated that the figure will top 200 million next year and that, by 2050, one third of the Chinese population will be aged 60 or over.

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