Tianjin retiree finds meaning helping neighbors as community volunteer

While many people travel and entertain to enjoy a happy, stress-free life after retirement, 70-year old Yang Jianhua chose to volunteer for community service to spend what he calls the "golden age".

"Every day community service work starts right after I wake up. Most of the work is quite trivial, like helping pump a toilet and fix a light, but I like being needed and find meaning through volunteering," Yang said.

Yang moved to the Chaoyangli community in Tianjin in 2007 and retired in 2009, the year he started to help neighbors in need, most of whom are older than him.

"Some of them are aged 84 or 85. Their children are living in other cities and are not able to take care of them most of the time. Luckily we have enough volunteers to help them," Yang said. "They also like spending time with us rather than some professional elder care service providers. We share a similar background and our ages do not differ that much. We have a lot to talk about."

Yang said once a neighbor had heart attack, but his children were living abroad, so Yang's wife, Qiu Xiaoying, who is also a volunteer, spent a day and night at the hospital to take care of him.

"Many of them remind me of our parents. We want them to feel at home even though they are living alone," Yang said.