Universities for the elderly enrich the lives of graying population

Aging citizens find renewed vigor and purpose as new policies start to see positive results

CHANGSHA－One week before the end of her course at a university for the elderly, Wu Yue'e was making notes for her speech as a student representative at the closing ceremony.

Wu, 72, has been a student for more than 10 years at Changsha Senior Cadre University in Hunan province, where she learned a number of new skills including reading and writing pinyin, using traditional Chinese medicine and playing the erhu.

Heading back to school for further study and cultural enrichment is becoming a choice of many Chinese senior citizens.

Self-improvement

The greatest regret of Wu, an active participant in all facets of school life, is that she did not receive a full education when she was young.

"I have always loved literature, even though I dropped out of school very early," Wu said.

Before retirement, Wu was a textile worker who loved to read in her spare time. Her favorite book is The Count of Monte Christo by French author Alexandre Dumas.

After her retirement, she was able to fulfill her dream of studying at a university for the elderly. "I felt the elderly should keep up with the pace of social development, and I hadn't done well enough," said Wu.

Yin Jianlin, 57, had a similar experience. Five years ago, Yin retired, but was unable to adapt to retirement. "Once a person stops working, a sense of loss comes," Yin said.

In 2015, Yin enrolled at a university for the elderly to study folk dance and mental health. With the help of the mental health class, Yin also accepted her new role in life and learned to deal with her emotions.

"I used to take care of my family as my sole responsibility. Now I have learned to take care of myself, too," Yin said.

"Although we are old, we feel like we are still teenagers when dancing with our classmates," she said.