From robotic heat therapy and exoskeletal walking aids to milk powder and furniture with no sharp edges, thousands of visitors to a Shanghai trade fair last week were offered a glimpse into China’s rapidly approaching future.
More than 600 businesses flocked to Shanghai’s International Exhibition of Senior Care, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Healthcare to display wares tailored to the country’s swelling old-age population — a focus for Beijing at a time when birth rates have collapsed.
“The market [for old people] is very hot,” said Zhu Yan, a sales representative at a stall displaying tooth-washing devices for infirm elderly patients under the brand Kangaroo Care. The design, she added, was originally aimed at children before switching to its new target market.