Chinese young and old: Generations together

Abstract

The morning following a late evening arrival to Shanghai, China, I was awakened by the sounds of Chinese music resounding through an open window. From the window I could see an unusual and exciting sight. In the park and along the quay, beside the Whangpoo River 100 yards from the hotel, many hundreds of Shanghai's elderly moved rhythmically to music—at 5:30 a.m.! Within five minutes I was wandering among the throngs of people who were deeply involved in an exercise program in which almost half of Shanghai's one million older persons participate daily.