First release! On March 15, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei joined hands with the "Beijing-Train Tour" silver-haired tourist train from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to set off, starting a 12-day journey of cultural integration between the north and the south.

"Take a train to enjoy the north and south style, and there are supporting elderly-friendly services on the train, which is just right for us!" Many elderly people praised it.

A silver-hailing train runs out the "acceleration" of the silver-hailing economy. At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Commerce and nine other units issued the "Action Plan on the Increase of Silver-Haid Tourism Trains to Promote the Development of Service Consumption", further promoting the development of the elderly tourism market and meeting the tourism needs of the elderly.

This year's "Government Work Report" proposes to "vigorously develop the silver economy." On the first "committee channel" of this year's National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a CPPCC member mentioned: "By 2035, the size of my country's silver-hailing economy is expected to reach about 30 trillion yuan. It is conservatively estimated that by 2050, the silver-hailing economy will be able to provide at least 100 million jobs."

At present, the scale of my country's silver-hailing economy is about 7 trillion yuan. Looking at the future through the numbers, how broad is the prospect of this blue ocean of silver-hailing economy?

It may be better to look at three "new" -

The changes in demand bring "new opportunities" for market development.

As of the end of 2024, the national population aged 60 and above was 310 million, and the national population aged 65 and above was 220 million, accounting for 22% and 15.6% of the total population of the country, respectively. While the aging of the population is deepening, it also contains opportunities to develop the silver economy.

Follow demand, with the improvement of living standards, the demand for the elderly is no longer limited to traditional consumption such as clothing, food, housing, use, and transportation. Quality consumption of health care, culture and entertainment, high-end health care and other quality lifestyle consumption has become an important feature of the consumption of the silver group. At the same time, the consumption capacity and willingness of the elderly are also increasing.

"Solving the people's concerns about elderly care is the focus of the silver economy." Jin Li, vice president of Southern University of Science and Technology, said that with the continuous improvement of the level of education for the whole people and the improvement of health, the elderly can continue to shine and heat up.

Innovation-driven, stimulate "new momentum" for economic development.

The silver economy involves a wide range of areas, long industrial chains, and diverse business formats, covering multiple fields such as elderly care services, medical care, cultural and entertainment activities, and financial services. Not only that, with the breakthroughs and application of science and technology such as artificial intelligence and life sciences, the connotation and extension of the silver economy are also continuing to expand.

New technologies, new business forms and new models in various fields are constantly emerging. A special silver-haired tourism train not only drives the development of cultural and tourism, but also creates employment opportunities for cities along the line; the elderly accompany the robot to achieve agenda reminders, chats, check recipes, and emergency calls, expanding the application scenarios of robots; Yinfa E-commerce helps more elderly people "go to the Internet"... From market cultivation to improvement of the industrial chain, from new consumption growth points to providing jobs, the silver-haired economy provides enterprises and the market with a broader development space, forming a new fulcrum for economic growth.

Play together to build a "new ecology" of the silver economy.

In early 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy and Enhancement of the Welfare of the Elderly", which clarified the development direction and goals of the Silver Economy, and proposed specific implementation paths and support measures. From fiscal subsidies, tax incentives to industrial park construction, a series of policy measures introduced by the state and local governments have provided solid support for the development of the silver economy.

In Guangzhou, there are more than 10,000 enterprises in the city's silver economy field, 75% of elderly care beds, 100% of elderly care service complexes, and 100% of elderly canteens are provided by social forces, promoting the clustered development of the silver economy... The coordinated cooperation of various forces such as the government, enterprises, social organizations and families has formed a "new ecology" wave of sustainable development of the silver economy, and has stimulated greater vitality in the market.

One end is connected to people's livelihood and the other end is connected to industries. Vigorously developing the silver economy is a vivid practice of "investing in people" and a "two-way rush" to promote economic development and people's livelihood improvement. Market demand continues to be released, technological innovation is strongly promoted, and policy support is constantly strengthened. I believe that the silver economy will burst into new and greater vitality.