Authorities collaborated with a volunteer organization to launch a charitable activity at an elderly care center in Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area (NETDA), Jiangsu province, on Oct 19, to mark the upcoming Chongyang Festival on Oct 21.

More than 100 enterprises and individuals participated in the activity to show care for the aged and donated money, food, cooking oil and health products worth nearly 600,000 yuan ($95,000).

The collaboration demonstrates that local authorities not only focused on the development of the economy, but also attached great importance to philanthropy. Nantong now has over 5,000 registered volunteers, and almost all the communities in the area have established volunteer organizations committed to helping the elderly.

Authorities said that they will continue to hold various activities enabling more people to show their respect and care for the elderly and ensuring that the seniors can have a better and more comfortable life.

The millennium-old Chongyang Festival, also known as the Double Ninth Festival, falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar and is dedicated to showing respect to the elderly. In 1989, the Chinese government marked the day as Seniors' Day.

Volunteers donate money, food, cooking oil and healthcare products, worth nearly 600,000 yuan, at an elderly care center in Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area, Jiangsu province, on Oct 19. [Photo/netda.gov.cn]