In the world's most populous nation, the number of elderly is staggering. The life expectancy of an average Chinese is now 71.4 years. About 130 million people, or 10 per cent of China's 1.3 billion citizens, are over the age of 60 and the average life expectancy continues to grow, according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

With the Chinese economy undergoing unprecedented change ?and a society opening up to new ideas ?life is not the same as it was a generation ago. Though ideals of filial piety and the importance of family seem as strong as ever, practical realities have entered the equation.

In one-child families, the grown-up child fighting the day-to-day battle of earning a living is often too busy tending to life's basic needs for his or her own family, never mind taking care of a parent.

It's sad, but true.

This situation is now resulting in a trend that has long been the standard in the West, sociological experts say.

More and more, elders in China's graying population, even those who have children, are turning to public and private organizations when they need help in their twilight years.

People trying to cash in on the trend of "old folks homes'' are not blind to the situation, and some have discovered the market in caring for seniors is huge.

In Chongqing alone, homes for the elderly can handle just 8,000 senior citizens, but more than 50,000 would like to live in such housing, according to a survey conducted by the city's Municipal Civil Affairs Department.

Gao Shunzhong, director of the Shapingba Welfare Institution in Chongqing, says elders have been moving into his facilities at an average growth rate of 15 per cent each year.

"Most are civil servants or professors who have pensions,'' Gao said.

Pension insurance generally is the way elders pay for life in such facilities, said Yang Tuan, a researcher with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

However, according to the 5th nation demographic survey, conducted in 2000, only about 3 per cent of rural elderly people can obtain pensions, compared to some 65 per cent of seniors living in cities.

China realizes that is a problem, and is hard at work upgrading its pension insurance system so that more and more elderly rural citizens will be able to afford living in homes to relieve their children of the burden, Yang said.

If this trend continues, and there is no doubt it will, the government should carefully examine the credentials of every new business caring for the elderly ?conducting background checks on proprietors to exclude anyone with a problematic past.

All such institutions should meet specific standards of practice, and be licensed, regulated and inspected on a regular basis.

Above all, the welfare and dignity of the elderly should be respected and protected.