Silver-haired Chinese ride on rails for golden journeys

BEIJING -- With his cellphone in selfie mode and a bright smile, 73-year-old Tu Guangming captured a memorable moment: He and over 850 fellow travelers, all of a similar age, gathered around dozens of tables to enjoy a feast of local delicacies in Jingmen, Central China's Hubei.

In late February, this group boarded a "silver-haired express" -- a tourist train designed for seniors -- for a five-day trip. Setting off from Sichuan's Chengdu in Southwest China, the train took them to the central city of Zhangjiajie in Hunan before visiting three Hubei cities, including Jingmen.

Similar trains are rolling out across China's vast landscape, carrying hundreds of seniors on scenic journeys amid the gentle spring breeze.

One such tour, hosting 546 tourists with an average age of 65, stretches 14 days and nearly 9,000 kilometers round-trip, running from Heilongjiang, the country's northernmost province, all the way to Hong Kong.

For China's expanding elderly population, this special kind of train is making travel more accessible.

Unlike conventional rail services, silver-haired trains link multiple tourist hubs, stopping at stations near major attractions. They also offer all-inclusive packages that cover transport, accommodation, meals, entrance fees and guided tours, removing the usual hassles of trip planning.

Many "silver-haired express" trains are equipped with senior-friendly features such as wider beds, handrails, and emergency call buttons to better cater to older travelers. Entertainment options like karaoke rooms and mahjong tables are also available, along with an onboard medical staff, health monitoring equipment, and specially designed meals.

"Once I book the ticket and board the train, there's nothing to worry about. I just lay back and enjoy," Tu told Xinhua.

TURNING SILVER INTO GOLD

Tu proudly considers himself an avid traveler. A combined monthly pension of over 10,000 yuan (about $1,395) enables Tu and his wife to embark on domestic sightseeing trips almost every month. Their recent train trip to Hubei cost less than 3,000 yuan per person.

Seniors like Tu have become a significant driving force in China's thriving tourism market. According to the China Tourism Academy, senior travelers aged 60 and above made 1.16 billion trips in 2023, accounting for 20.6 percent of all domestic travel. By 2028, the senior tourism market is projected to reach 2.7 trillion yuan.

As living standards rise and life expectancy grows, Chinese seniors have shown greater spending power with evolving preferences. Meeting their diverse needs with high-quality products and services is central to developing China's silver economy, a key component of its broader strategy to address the aging population and stimulate domestic consumption.

"Silver-haired express" trains have emerged as a fresh and appealing travel option for China's aging population, providing a solution to their demands for safety, comfort and convenience, said Shen Ting, a trip planner with Chengdu-based Jianhua, which organized the group trip Tu was part of.

From late February to April, seven silver-haired trains are scheduled to run from Sichuan to Hubei, expected to carry around 7,000 tourists, according to Shen.

Tourism train services for seniors have evolved from China's push to develop specialized rail-based travel supported by the country's vast railway network. Spanning 160,000 kilometers, the network now connects 99 percent of cities with populations over 200,000.

In 2024, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway) operated 1,860 tourist trains, primarily serving popular destinations such as Xinjiang, Yunnan and Heilongjiang. These trains carried over 1 million passengers, with seniors making up nearly 80 percent.

"The flexible routes and affordable pricing of tourist trains meet the travel needs of seniors effectively," said Zhu Wenzhong from China Railway.

In addition to domestic routes, silver-haired tourism trains also enable international travel through joint rail and sea transport. For example, one service operates on a train-and-cruise model, departing from Chengdu to the eastern coastal city of Yantai, where passengers transfer to a cruise bound for Incheon and Seoul in the Republic of Korea.

Recognizing the growing purchasing power and travel ambitions of the elderly, China introduced an action plan in February to further develop the silver-haired train sector. It outlines a range of measures to expand service offerings, create themed routes, and enhance onboard medical and senior care services.

According to Zhu, by 2027, China Railway plans to introduce over 100 dedicated tourism routes for seniors, develop 160 senior-friendly train sets, and expand the operation of silver-haired tourism trains to more than 2,500 trips.

Chen Guang, a professor at Southwest Jiaotong University, sees "silver-haired trains" as a vast untapped market. "With only a few million passengers carried across 2,500 trips, there remains significant room for growth."

Shen, with the Chengdu-based travel agency, noted challenges related to tourist reception capacity in less-visited destinations. Silver-haired train trips often involve large groups and are designed around relatively niche travel locations, posing challenges for some localities, she noted.

"We expect the growing silver-haired train sector will help spur infrastructure upgrades and promote local development, which, in turn, will offer a better experience for senior tourists," Shen added.