Putting a glow on the Golden Years

I've read many stories of elderly Russian pensioners enjoying their twilight years in Chinese border towns. They've made me feel envy, even though some sound too good to be true.

One recent account was about a couple, both 75, who have bought an apartment and settled down in Heihe, a boomtown on the China-Russian border. The wife told the Russian media - a Chinese translation of the report has gone viral in China - that the couple had lived like young people there, traveling and eating in restaurants all on her pension of an equivalent of about 1,000 yuan ($150) a month. Her husband's pension lies untouched in the bank as the nest egg.

But with all admiration, I wonder how they will pay for healthcare when they are sick, and who will look after them when they become too frail.