A man from a social welfare center for the aged in Guiyang, Guizhou province, washes the feet of 87-year-old Cai Sifen. China is in great need of nursing home beds and professional caretakers for the elderly. [Photo by Qiao Qiming/For China Daily]

About 212 million people on the Chinese mainland were over 60 years old by the end of last year, with nearly 40 million unable to care for themselves, according to a report on China's nursing institutions for the aged issued by the China Research Center on Friday. It also reports that China has about 5.5 million beds in nursing homes for senior citizens nationwide, 26 beds per 1,000 people, of which 48 percent are empty.

Caring for the elderly is not only a family issue, but increasingly a social issue in China. By 2050, those aged over 60 are expected to account for about 35 percent of China's population. In the future, the social welfare system should play a leading role in caring for the 480 million elderly, with their families as support. At present, it is the other way round. To reverse this, changes in concept and policies are needed.

Chinese people will have to adjust with the changing times and accept that living with one's offspring, although it may be the most desired way to spend old-age days, may not be practical. Nursing homes are increasingly the most likely way for the elderly to be looked after across the nation.

The high vacancy rate and the shortage of beds in the nursing institutions indicate the structural problem in China's care-for-the-elderly industry. The lower-end nursing homes in the countryside and the luxurious nursing apartments in cities take a large proportion in the overall number of the nursing beds. But what the senior citizens really need is more intermediate-level nursing homes.

The government should be a basic provider of services for the elderly, a responsible agency to maintain market order, and an efficient manager of the pension fund to maintain its value.

The above is an abridgement of a Guangming Daily article published on Monday.