AN upscale nursing home providing over 500 beds for the elderly was opened in the Qianhai area Tuesday, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.

The seniors’ home is funded and operated by Foresea Life Insurance with government support. It is one of the major projects initiated in 2014 to improve the public wellbeing in the city.

Covering an area of approximately 10,800 square meters, the seniors’ home has two apartment buildings of 24 floors and 12 floors, respectively. The project has cost around 900 million yuan (US$132).

Shen Chengfang, general manager of Foresea Life Insurance, said the seniors’ home has a high-standard management system and high medical level to help seniors enjoy their retired life with an array of comprehensive services.

According to Shen, the highlight of the seniors’ home is the combination of the nursing services and medical rehabilitation. The model will allow the seniors to enjoy long-term health-care management and medical rehabilitation at the same time.

Since the seniors’ home targets the better-off population, the deposit to join the community is 100,000 yuan and a standard room costs 9,800 yuan per month. For a suite with one living room and one bedroom, the cost is between 13,800 and 14,800 yuan, while a two-bedroom suite costs 17,800 yuan each month. The nursing service fee for dependent elderly is around 6,000 to 9,800 yuan per month.

Dozens of senior residents visited the newly opened home with their families Tuesday. An elderly man surnamed Wang and his wife booked an apartment, becoming the home’s first two residents.

Wang said they liked the services and environment there very much and thought the price is acceptable.

Some other companies like Poly Group, Vanke and Taikang have also invested in seniors’ homes recently.

Statistics show that by the end of June 2017, eight insurance companies in China had invested in 29 projects of seniors’ homes with a total investment of 67.82 billion yuan.

Like other major cities in China, Shenzhen will embrace the aged population in the near future. There were around 1.2 million permanent residents aged over 60 years as of last December, so the city is rolling out more regulations and policies to encourage public funds to provide nursing services for the elderly. (Zhang Qian)