Zhou likes learning electrical piano at Fengtai District University for the Aged in Fengtai District, Beijing. /Photo courtesy of Zhou
Editor's note: CGTN presents "New Trends," which provides you new trends among Chinese people and tells you reasons behind them. In this part of the series, CGTN takes a look at Chinese youths' favoring of universities for the aged.
"It's really very, very nice," said a 27-year-old woman surnamed Zhou when she was asked how she feels about studying at a university for the aged.
Seeing the posts where young Chinese went to study at elderly universities on China's X-like Sina Weibo last winter, Zhou said she found the classes at the universities so attractive that she also wanted to study at that kind of university.
After searching for such universities near her home, Zhou registered for electrical piano lessons through the WeChat official account of Fengtai District University for the Aged in Beijing's Fengtai District.
I really cherished the chance to learn electrical piano, said Zhou, who was not able to learn the instrument when she was a child. The young woman added that she feels happy and relaxed when learning and practicing the electrical piano in comparison with fast daily life.
She is not alone. On Chinese lifestyle-sharing social media platform Xiaohongshu, there are more than 70,000 posts about taking classes at universities for the elderly. Under most posts, there are young people expressing interests about the classes and asking where they can apply for this kind of university.
More and more universities for the elderly have been established in recent years as China is taking measures to address population aging and building a lifelong learning society.
Elderly students take yoga classes at a university for the aged in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, October 31, 2022. /CFP
With the number of people aged 60 or above in China expected to exceed 300 million by 2025, the State Council has set a goal of establishing at least one university for the elderly in every county-level region by 2025.
There were more than 76,000 universities for the elderly in China as of April, with more than 20 million registered students, according to data from the China Association of the Universities For the Aged.
The classes at the universities for the elderly are aimed at elderly people who are at least 55 years old. However, the diversity of the classes are inviting many young people like Zhou to apply for them.
"The subjects the young students choose are mostly about dancing, yoga and music," said Ma Gejun, who is in charge of the office for elderly education at the Fengtai District University for the Aged. Ma added that there are also young students learning calligraphy and painting at the university.
Noting the young students are few in comparison with the elderly ones, Ma pointed out that some of the young students come to study with their parents.
Echoing Ma, Zhou said she has only one young classmate in her electrical piano class. As for the reason, Zhang admitted the lessons are mostly held in the daytime on weekdays when most young people have to work.
As for herself, Zhou, who is an accountant, said her flexible work time and annual leave ensure that she can take the classes.
A teacher speaks with students between classes at Fengtai District University for the Aged in Fengtai District, Beijing. /Photo courtesy of Zhou
Besides fulfilling her childhood's desire to learn electrical piano, Zhou also speaks highly of the budget-friendly lessons and teachers' high quality.
Compared to around 500 yuan ($68) for a single electrical piano class in a commercial studio in Beiing, Zhou said the elderly university charges her roughly 50 yuan per class, let alone the qualified teacher.
Zhou also feels the warmth from her elderly classmates, who kindly told her what materials she needs to prepare and the things she has to pay attention to in the second class, when she missed the first class.
"I feel assured of the teacher and appreciate my classmates," Zhou said.
Zhou thinks it could be better for the elderly universities to have lessons on weekends. "Many of my friends want to come here to study the subjects they have long-wanted to learn after hearing my experience, but they have to work on weekdays," said the 27-year-old.
Though such classes aimed at the elderly are becoming popular among young Chinese, Zhang Chunli, a staff worker at the Fengtai District University for the Aged, said the elderly universities usually have limited quotas for students.
"Due to the limited quotas, we prioritize the elderly students' needs and let them enjoy a quality life after retirement," Zhang said.
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