As China's population of the elderly grows, the private sector is stepping in to fill in the gap in services for the old

It is a cold day early in the Lunar New Year, and 82-year-old Cai Hongyi Is sitting in a wooden chair at the entrance of the four-storey Kangyi Nursing Home in Caiji Town in Suqian, in Jiangsu province.

The home, with a capacity of 400 beds, appears deserted as most of the 80 residents have been taken home by their families for the Spring Festival.