Yizhou becomes Hechi's fourth longevity village

Yizhou was awarded the title of “China’s longevity village” by the Gerontological Society of China (GSC) on March 20. It made the county-level city become the fourth longevity village in Hechi, Guangxi, which have received the award after the Bama Yao autonomous county, Donglan county and Fengshan county.

Present at the award ceremony was Zhao Baohua, the standing vice chairman of GSC; Zhai Jingxian, secretary general of GSC; Liang Liling, director of Guangxi’s Senior Working Committee Office; Shao Bowen, president of Gerontological Society of Guangxi; and Wei Zulin, Yizhou’s deputy mayor.

Yizhou’s three fundamental indexes all passed the approval standards of becoming a China’s longevity village. In 2013, Yizhou had 85 centenarians, equating to 13.2 centenarians for every 100,000 local residents. Its average life expectancy was 79.52 years old, 2.7 percentage points more than the standard.

Zhao Baohua said that the title was a valuable intangible asset and that it could strengthen the cultural soft power of Yizhou and could increase the value of local agricultural products. The title could also provide new development opportunities for Yizhou’s industries such as food, tourism, real estate and leisure culture, and help attract capital, talent and technologies. It will open up new space for the healthy and sustainable development of Yizhou’s economy and society.

Edited by Jake Hooson