The Nansha District Bureau of Civil Affairs in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, has officially signed a framework cooperation agreement with the Elderly Services Association of Hong Kong to deepen cooperation in the sector.

Under the agreement, a joint communication mechanism and working group will be set up to promote in-depth cooperation in areas that include the mutual recognition and exchange of elderly care service standards, Hong Kong-style elderly care service training, the construction of Hong Kong-style elderly care homes, as well as the mutual recognition and promotion of high-quality and honest elderly care service brands.

Meanwhile, both sides will promote the integrated development of elderly care services between the two regions in the coming months, according to the agreement signed last Friday.

Located at the mouth of the Pearl River, Nansha is an emerging district in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and is home to a number of Hong Kong-style housing estates and communities.

Just 35 minutes by high-speed train from Hong Kong, Nansha is considered especially suited to Hong Kong's elderly, according to the agreement.

Kenneth Chan, chairman of the Elderly Services Association of Hong Kong, said that there is plenty of room for cooperation in elderly care between the two regions.

Chan said he is expecting to deepen the elderly care service exchange between Nansha and Hong Kong, begin implementing training programs and Hong Kong-style elderly care services, as well as associated projects in Nansha to introduce Hong Kong-style elderly care services via a pilot model that will serve elderly Hong Kong residents choosing to live in Nansha.

Shirley Tsang, a Hong Kong member of the Guangzhou Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, has also urged departments in Guangzhou to strengthen cooperation with their counterparts in Hong Kong and Macao to connect their respective medical and social security systems.

According to statistics released by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department in 2020, more than 90,000 permanent Hong Kong residents over the age of 65 were already living in Guangdong — mostly in Guangzhou — a figure that had increased by 85 percent over the course of the preceding decade.

A Hong Kong senior surnamed Ho who is now living in a nursing home in Nansha said that Nansha is pleasant, the food is delicious and the service is high-quality. "On special days, including wedding anniversaries, the staff here celebrate with us."