Beyond babysitting: How China's grandparents are reinventing retirement

Borneo Post

5 days ago

Graduates perform during the graduation ceremony at Xinjiang Open University for Seniors in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)
BEIJING (July 29): With her silver hair neatly styled and a pearl necklace resting against a soft yellow blouse, Yin Song embodies the elegance of the pianist she's always been. But the large studio headphones over her ears and the video camera in front of her suggest something different.
At 74, 'Grandma Piano,' as her online fans affectionately call her, now spends her time guiding audiences through the world of anime and video game music, sharing the same depth of feeling she once brought to Mozart and Chopin.
A lifelong musician, Yin opened her social media account in 2022 to share her expertise. It wasn't until she analyzed the music from the hit game 'Black Myth: Wukong' that her channel suddenly took off. The 'grandinfluencer' now has more than 600,000 followers on the video-sharing platform Bilibili.
For Yin, the experience has been unexpectedly transformative. 'We used to lead the young,' she said. 'Now they lead us, and I want to keep running alongside them,' embracing new ideas and ways of connecting.
Yin's story reflects a subtle yet telling cultural shift. In a country where grandparents have long been expected to devote their retirement years to caring for grandchildren, an increasing number of older Chinese are quietly rewriting the script. They are embracing new roles as content creators, community volunteers, entrepreneurs, and part-time professionals. For many, retirement is no longer a retreat, but a second act.
Yin is far from alone. By the end of 2024, over 30 million users aged 60 or above were logging in monthly on Xiaohongshu, one of China's most popular social media platforms. In just two years, the number of senior content creators has tripled, generating more than 100 million posts.
These older digital pioneers are challenging long-held stereotypes from grandmothers redefining fashion, to retired professors distilling philosophy into viral short videos, and rural elders sharing their pastoral lives.
Digital engagement is only part of the story. Many seniors are also returning to work, seeking purpose beyond their pensions. Zhu Honghua, 70, a former Beijing accountant enjoyed a comfortable monthly pension of around 8,500 yuan (about 1,191 U.S. dollars) and a leisurely life with her husband after retirement.
But the routine began to wear thin. When a business contact invited Zhu back to accounting, she jumped at the chance. 'It's not just about the money,' she said. 'Having something meaningful to do every day is its own reward.'
Zhu's case is hardly an outlier. A growing body of data suggests that many older Chinese are not only willing but eager to return to work. A 2023 survey by the China Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics found that 45 percent of those aged between 60 and 69 expressed a desire to remain in or reenter the workforce.
Research from the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences revealed similar patterns: 62.1 percent of people aged 60 to 65 said they wanted to keep working, while among those approaching retirement, aged 55 to 59, the figure was even higher, at 72.7 percent.
While motivations vary, nearly half of those seeking post-retirement work cited a need for purpose, according to a 2022 report on senior reemployment. Others aimed to apply their skills or chase new ambitions. A third said they hoped to ease financial pressure or afford a better quality of life.
The surge of interest in post-retirement work coincides with China's rapidly aging population. By the end of 2024, more than 310 million Chinese citizens were aged 60 or older, about 22 percent of the population. That share is expected to surpass 30 percent by 2035, when the number of seniors is projected to top 400 million.
As waves of older workers reach retirement age over the coming years, policymakers and experts see both a warning and an opportunity. With educational attainment on the rise, China's older adults are seen not only as dependents, but as a vast reservoir of experience, skills and resources that could help offset the country's shrinking working-age population.
China has taken steps to harness the power of its aging population. In its recent move, the government issued new guidelines this May, calling for more flexible and personalized job opportunities tailored to older adults, while pledging to dismantle outdated regulations that stand in their way.
Local governments have moved quickly to implement the changes, building registries of senior talent, expanding employment services for retirees, and cultivating specialized human resource agencies to serve the growing 'silver economy.'
Signs of change are beginning to emerge in the labor market. Retirees with backgrounds in engineering, medicine, education and skilled trades are returning as consultants, trainers or part-time specialists, lending decades of experience to fields in need.
'China has entered an aging society,' said Lu Jiehua, a sociology professor at Peking University. 'Tapping into older human resources isn't just about addressing demographic pressure. It's a crucial strategy for extending the country's demographic dividend.' – Xinhua China elderly music performance retirement