Senior citizens in a community in Beijing. The city has launched a series of measures to improve the lives of the elderly. [WANG JING / CHINA DAILY]

The city has rolled out a series of preferential policies to ensure a better life for its gray population.

Among the measures, courtesy cards that were introduced last year to give older residents privileges and discounts when doing such things as taking buses and visiting parks will be upgraded to let card holders deposit money onto them.

"Courtesy cards for seniors were first used in 2009 and have been issued to 1.35 million senior citizens in Beijing," said Li Jianguo, president of the Beijing Association on Ageing.

In addition to giving free access to public parks and busses, seniors with courtesy cards can also go to some tourist attractions, including museums and gyms, for free and get priority service when consulting doctors and lawyers.

At the beginning of 2010, the Beijing government started sending out service tickets to qualified senior citizens and disabled persons, entitling them to 100 yuan a month in value for such things as haircuts and the hiring of a cleaner. Some 330,000 senior citizens in the city have used the service tickets so far, accessing 150 million yuan.

"Beijing municipal government is going to promote the card as an all-purpose card with all the functions integrated into it," said Li. "It is being done for the users' convenience and to save resources."

When seniors take a bus or enter a park by swiping the cards, the information will be collected by the related departments and analyzed so the habits of seniors can be studied and the cards adjusted to suit their needs.

Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport is working with the Beijing Municipal Commission on Ageing to set up an insurance system to protect seniors.

According to the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, the number of the senior citizens in Beijing was 2.3 million by the end of 2009, comprising 18.2 percent of the population. The number is predicted to grow to four million by 2020.

Wu Shimin, director of the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, said the government will ensure there are between five and seven service workers for elderly and disabled residents in each district and at least one in each community. In districts with a high percentage of seniors and people with disabilities, more will be hired.

Due to the wide range of service providers accepting service tickets, regulations will be drawn up in the second half of the year to ensure the quality of services offered.

Wu also said the Beijing government also has plans to build another municipal welfare home for the elderly this year that will have 500 beds. The location is yet to be decided.

So far this year, 6,014 beds for elderly residents in welfare homes have been added this year.