‘Replacement relative’: woman spends US$4,000 to keep empty nesters warm by visiting strangers’ elderly parents
- 33-year-old who offers free-of-charge ‘replacement relative’ service has visited more than 100 lonely elderly people in past year
- Videos of her selfless visits posted online prompt outpouring of praise and get more than 36 million likes
As concerns mount about the number of old people in China living alone, a Good Samaritan is on a one-woman mission to alleviate loneliness while helping people who cannot spend time with their elderly parents and grandparents.
Since last year, Guan Yanxia, 33, from eastern China has visited more than 100 elderly people on behalf of relatives who for various reasons have not been able to fulfil family obligations.
Her generous, free-of-charge work has moved millions of people online amid growing concern that China’s changing socio-demographic landscape is leaving too many elderly people behind.
Guan, from Qixia city in Shandong province, first made the offer to help disconnected families late last year on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
She received a number of responses and began to make use of her weekends to visit the elderly relatives of people who, for instance, were prevented from doing so due to the persistent travel restrictions linked to China’s zero-Covid policy.
“In the past couple of years, so many people working far away from home couldn’t return home to visit their families. I am willing to do that on behalf of all those in need. It’s my honor to spend some time and chat with your loved ones,” she said on the platform, where her home-visit videos have attracted more than 36 million likes.
Most people she visits live alone on the outskirts of her home city, Qixia, after their children moved to larger urban areas for work, an isolated group known in China as “empty nesters”.
