PEOPLE are waiting in line to move into Xiyanghong (Red Sunset) Apartments, an elderly home on Jilong Road in Shinan District, as the facility is always fully booked.

    Offering excellent service, the well-managed elderly home has been awarded the title “Excellent Elderly Service Organization” by Qingdao authorities several years in a row.

    “Senior citizens want more than material comfort,” said Wang Ping, chief of Xiyanghong Apartments. “They want to be satisfied spiritually as well.”

    Not the most luxurious facility in the city, Xiyanghong, however, is the only one that provides such a variety of activities. Senior citizens can dance, play erhu (Chinese fiddle), sing in a chorus, or learn about medicine.

    The courses are also open to elderly people who do not live in the apartments.

    “A lot of people chose to rent an apartment after they attended courses because we make them feel at home here,” said Wang.

    “We don’t treat them as clients, we treat them as family. We want them to be happy. Elderly people will stay healthy only when they are happy,” she said.

    The apartments also offer day-care services. When their children go to work, elderly people can have meals and seek entertainment at Xiyanghong.

    Founded in 2002, the elderly home has 160 rooms. It is the only elderly home in Qingdao that has obtained the ISO9001 certification.

    (Chen Ting, Qiao Wenxin)