Sutras, serenity and senior citizens

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of reports China Daily will publish looking at the lives of elderly people, the problems they face and the ongoing efforts to improve their standard of living. More stories will be published in the weeks to come.

At first glance, the large building at the foot of Lingyan Mountain in the southwest of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, resembles an upscale holiday resort.

Yet the chants that play in a continuous loop indicate that this is no ordinary retreat. It is a nursing home, whose 60 residents are all Buddhists with an average age of 80.