Back to school for the 'silver' generation

Challenges and risks

Some critics question whether a two-week program, typically costing between 20,000 and 70,000 yuan, is worth it, while others raise health and safety concerns.

Da Zhigang, a researcher at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, warns that Chinese seniors overseas may not receive timely medical care in an emergency due to language barriers, and could face unexpected risks.

There are deeper structural hurdles. China's higher education system remains designed for degree-seeking young people. Senior universities are widespread, but their curricula tend to focus on entertainment and hobbies, not skill renewal or social reintegration, experts say.

Professor Peng Xizhe, a demographer and senior professor at Fudan University, points to what he calls a "system ceiling".

The most fundamental challenge is a shift in mindset across society, he emphasizes.

Peng urges the education system, labor policies and other subsystems to be prepared for the new normal of an aging society.

Curiosity is the drive to live

To date, Zi's oldest participant has been an 83-year-old retired mathematics teacher from Shanghai who completed a fashion and crafts program in Italy.

"I was impressed when he told me curiosity is the drive to live," Zi says. The line has become something of a motto for her club.

"These people are running toward something, a version of themselves they had set aside decades ago," she says.

As for Li Guolin, she didn't take much of a break after finishing her studies in Japan in late April. Instead of flying directly home to Zhuhai, she detoured through Taipei to visit its Palace Museum, then flew to Hong Kong before returning to the mainland.

A few days later, right after the May Day holiday, she was at the airport again — this time for a holiday in Rome and Malta with a friend she met on one of her study trips.

"Our class averaged 60 years old and everyone agreed that before 50, we lived for our families and children. After 50, we decided to live for ourselves," she says.

Her family has noticed the change.

"They told me the biggest difference is that I have more energy now, and I don't fixate on my pain anymore," she shares.

When asked if she plans to keep going, she does not hesitate. "Spain will likely be my next learning destination for a dance program," she says.

"Even if I don't know how to dance, I want to try. I want to challenge myself. I don't want to live the way I used to — always holding back."