The Qingdao Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau has integrated its response to an aging population with efforts to foster new industrial drivers since the beginning of this year to focus on consumption upgrades, geriatric services, and industry growth to advance the development of China's Bay of Health initiative.

Qingdao currently has 292 eldercare institutions, 180 of which are rated 3-star or higher and operate under branded, large-scale, and chain models. To accelerate the development of health and wellness tourism, the Civil Affairs Bureau has strengthened cooperation with government departments from more than 40 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries, while also forming a national geriatric tourism alliance with 23 cities. It has further partnered with 12 leading institutions—including Genertec, Ruiyuan Zhongkang Health Industry Group, Hongyuan Group, Wanlin Healthcare, Taikang Insurance, and PICC Insurance—to share resources, stimulate consumption, and attract more visitors from outside Qingdao for health and wellness stays.

According to officials, Qingdao is currently expediting 4 major eldercare projects totaling 835 million yuan in adherence to the principle of driving projects forward through a pipeline of negotiation, contracting, and construction: the renovation of the Shandongtou Nursing Home in Laoshan District, the Jimo Run'an Elderly Care Center, the Shimei'er Medical-Care facility in Shibei District, and Taikang Home of Care, aiming for their early completion and operation. 2 additional projects—the 600-million-yuan Laoshan Wanlin Care Complex and the 450-million-yuan Jiaozhou Care Center—are being prepared for groundbreaking. Meanwhile, the Haier Jimo Hot Spring Town (380 million yuan; 58,000 m²) and Haier Shibei Times Square (320 million yuan; 27,000 m²) are being revitalized as flagship wellness tourism sites. The city is also partnering with the Qingdao Municipal Hospital and Qingdao Central Hospital, using the Qingdao Fucai Geracomium as a base to establish a specialized, open-access secondary rehabilitation hospital to provide comprehensive and personalized services for elderly people with dementia, severe disabilities, and loss of independence. Contracts for these initiatives are expected to be finalized in the near term.

Seizing the momentum of the silver economy, the Qingdao Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau capitalized on hosting the national launch of the Elder Care Service Consumption Promotion Month alongside the 10th China Shandong (Qingdao) International Health Care Industry Expo and Silver Hair Consumption Festival, bringing together more than 300 eldercare enterprises across 645 booths to generate 39 million yuan in intended deals over 3 days—up 69% from the previous session. Follow-up within a month pushed confirmed transactions beyond 51 million yuan while exhibitor satisfaction exceeded 90% for the first time. At the same time, the Civil Affairs Bureau, in collaboration with the Municipal Finance Bureau, leveraged the national 35-billion-yuan pilot program to subsidize eldercare services for seniors with disabilities through the launch of an implementation plan for providing care service consumption subsidies to seniors with moderate or severe disabilities—making this the nation's first such disbursement. 335 institutions in Qingdao have been approved to process subsidy claims to date, and up to 4,294 eligible seniors have received care vouchers.