12 Departments Launch 'Enjoying Silver Years' Series with Rich Culture & Tourism Content
The Ministry of Civil Affairs and 11 other departments issued a notice to launch the 'Enjoying Silver Years' series to enrich seniors' cultural life from the first half of 2026.
To actively respond to population aging, enrich the spiritual and cultural activities of older people and improve their physical and mental health, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, together with the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and 9 other departments (12 in total), recently issued the Notice on Carrying Out the 'Enjoying the Silver Years' Series of Activities to Enrich the Spiritual and Cultural Life of Older People (hereinafter referred to as the 'Notice'). Starting in the first half of 2026, under the theme 'Delight Body and Mind, Show Style, Promote Health,' the 'Enjoying the Silver Years' series of activities will be organized on a regular basis every year.
The Notice specifies that the activities will, based on the needs and characteristics of older people, build platforms for the spiritual and cultural activities of older people, expand the supply of cultural, sports and other services and products for older people, accelerate the cultivation of new growth points for silver consumption, and better meet the high-quality and diverse spiritual and cultural needs of older people.
The Notice focuses on six major themed activities, many of which are closely tied to the culture and tourism field: the 'Silver-Age Arts' and 'Silver-Age Cultural and Creative' activities encourage folk custom performances and intangible cultural heritage transmission, and encourage older people to participate, in fields they are familiar with, in the development of local distinctive culture and tourism industries and in enabling rural revitalization through the cultural industry; the 'Silver-Age Fitness' activity encourages national fitness themed activities such as the 'Walking the Grand Canal' national fitness walks and widely carries out fitness events for older people; the 'Silver-Age Wellness' activity encourages the development of tourism products suited to older people traveling together with their families, as well as service facilities such as hotels and homestays friendly to young and old enjoying time together and to families, promotes traveling to follow performances, films and television, sports events and intangible cultural heritage, and adds silver-haired tourist trains; and the 'Silver-Age Reading' and 'Silver-Age Science Popularization' activities give full play to the science popularization and education role of entities such as universities for older people, science and technology museums and cultural centers, and expand the supply of quality resources.
The Notice requires that all localities and departments strengthen overall coordination and linkage and, centering on the activity content, strive to create activity brands with regional and ethnic characteristics.
Notice on Carrying Out the 'Enjoying the Silver Years' Series of Activities to Enrich the Spiritual and Cultural Life of Older People
To: the civil affairs departments (bureaus), Party committee publicity departments, Party committee cyberspace affairs offices, education departments (commissions), agriculture and rural affairs (agriculture and animal husbandry) departments (bureaus, commissions), competent commerce departments, culture and tourism departments (bureaus), radio and television bureaus, sports administrative departments, federations of literary and art circles and associations for science and technology of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; and the Civil Affairs Bureau, Party Committee Publicity Department, Party Committee Cyberspace Affairs Office, Education Bureau, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Commerce Bureau, Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Association for Science and Technology of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
To actively respond to population aging, enrich the spiritual and cultural activities of older people and improve their physical and mental health, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and other departments have decided to organize the 'Enjoying the Silver Years' series of activities under the theme 'Delight Body and Mind, Show Style, Promote Health' every year starting from 2026. The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:
Uphold the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress and all its plenary sessions, earnestly implement the arrangements of the Fourth Plenary Session, practice the concepts of active aging and healthy aging, and, based on the needs and characteristics of older people, build platforms for the spiritual and cultural activities of older people, guide the broad participation of older people, stimulate the vitality for innovation and creativity in spiritual and cultural services for older people, expand the supply of cultural, sports and other services and products for older people, accelerate the cultivation of new growth points for silver consumption, promote the improvement of older people's quality of life and health, and better meet the high-quality and diverse spiritual and cultural needs of older people.
(1) Organize 'Silver-Age Arts' activities. Guide all localities in holding mass cultural and artistic performance activities such as arts performances for older people, talent competitions and gala evenings, as well as community-level mass cultural activities such as 'Our Festivals,' 'Village Galas,' singing contests, amateur opera fan gatherings, square dancing and yangge gatherings. Widely carry out exchanges and displays of music, dance, traditional opera, recitation and costume performances by older people, as well as folk skills and folk arts. Encourage operators in the cultural market to provide cultural products suitable for older people. Encourage artists and literary and art workers at all levels and of all kinds to participate in public welfare activities such as promoting fine traditional Chinese culture, bringing art into communities and sending opera to the countryside, with emphasis on favoring older people in rural areas. Tap rural cultural talents and cultural leaders, carry out rural cultural activities in light of local conditions, and drive more rural older people to participate actively. Support universities for older people and literary and art groups in providing literary and art training and teaching for older people, and provide support and guidance for older people's positive and uplifting cultural and artistic activities.
(This article is compiled from a publicly released article by the Tibet Autonomous Region Department of Culture and Tourism; see the link at the beginning of the text for the original.)