Editor's note: As the Chinese government responds proactively to population aging, the country has adopted policies and fostered a social environment in which senior citizens are respected, cared for, and live happily in their later years, writes a veteran journalist with China Daily.
Beijing native Jia Jun, 61, grew up in a house in a hutong, or alleyway, near Hufang Bridge in Xicheng district, where her mother has lived for more than 80 years.