On June 2, 2023, the closing ceremony of the first "International Forum on Age-Friendly and Liveable Cities" and the awards ceremony of the 21st International Awards for Liveable Communities Finals were grandly held in Malta. The International Institute on Ageing United Nations - Malta (INIA) officially presented the certificate of "World Age-friendly City" to Qihe County, China. Thus, Qihe County has become the first city in the world to pass the certification since INIA officially launched the "World Age-Friendly City" certification project this year. Ms. Angela Kane, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Ms. Rosette Bonello, Deputy Director of the International Institute on Ageing United Nations - Malta, attended the certificate issuance ceremony.
In September 2022, INIA completed the preparation of the "World Age-Friendly City" evaluation indicators and officially launched the "World Age-Friendly City" certification project in early 2023. The certification focuses on the two major areas of accessible physical environment indicators and inclusive social environment indicators on urban age-friendliness, and has formulated 11 primary indicators, nearly 30 secondary indicators and a series of specific implementation elements covering various fields such as neighborhood walkability, public spaces, buildings and housing, public transportation, eco-environment, active aging policies and environment, social engagement, cultural and sports activities, health and social services, etc. aiming to comprehensively assess the city’s age-friendliness status and promote best practices and innovations.
In 2022, Health Bureau, Civil Affairs Bureau and other relevant departments of Qihe County began to connect and prepare for the "World Age-Friendly City" certification application. From March to April 2023, with the technical support of the China International Association for Promotion of Science and Technology and under the recommendation of the International Sustainable Urban and Community Development Institute (SUC Institute), Qihe County took the lead in completing the full application materials for the "World Age-Friendly City" certification and submitted it to INIA. The International Expert Committee on Active Ageing and Age-Friendly Cities - INIA determined that Qihe County officially passed the "World Age-Friendly City" certification at the end of May, and INIA issued the certificate for the first time at this "International Forum on Age-Friendly and Liveable Cities".
During the four-day Forum, Mr. Zhang Yan, Deputy County Mayor of Qihe County, led the Qihe delegation to attend the opening ceremony and main forum, and delivered a speech at the "Mayors’ Dialogues" session. They also visited well-known medical and health care institutions and related enterprises in Malta for exchanges and cooperation, and were invited to participate in the special field trip and international training session of INIA. He was the only city representative of China to deliver a special speech at the "International Network of Age-Friendly and Liveable Cities" workshop, giving a comprehensive introduction on Qihe County’s innovative and best practices in the field of age-friendly and liveable city construction to the world, which received widespread attention and recognition from relevant UN agencies, Malta’s government and business sectors, and city representatives from various countries. Hon. Dr. Ian Borg, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta, Ms. Angela Kane, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Prof. Marvin Formosa, Director of the International Institute on Ageing United Nations - Malta, Mr. Arab Hoballah, Ex-Chief of the Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme, Mr. Choudhury Mohanty, Environment Programme Coordinator of the United Nations Centre for Regional Development, Mr. Pietro Elisei, President of the International Society of City and Regional Planners, Dr. Alexandre Sidorenko, Senior Advisor of European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Dr. Abyad Abdulrazzak, Chairman of Middle-East Academy for Medicine of Aging, Mr. John Boxall, Mayor of Birgu, Malta, and mayors and senior delegates from more than 30 countries attended the Forum and its series of activities.
Qihe County has a permanent population of 576,000, including nearly 130,000 elderly people aged 60-80 years old, 18,610 elderly people aged 80-99 years old, and 65 elderly people over 100 years old. The oldest person in the County is 115 years old. In the County, the hot spring coverage rate is 85%; the greening coverage rate is 43.49%; the water quality up-to-standard rate for centralized drinking water sources is 100%; there is a 63.4-kilometer Yellow River ecological corridor; the concentration of negative oxygen ions in the air is 4980/cm3, greatly exceeding the clean air standards of the World Health Organization. It is a well-known hometown of longevity and an international garden city.
In recent years, Qihe County has kept exploring and innovating in the construction of age-friendly and health-care city. It has been successively rated as "Excellent Culture, Tourism and Health-Care County in Shandong Province", "China's Top 100 Health-Care Counties/Cities", "National All-for-One Tourism Demonstration Zone", "National Eco-Civilization Demonstration Zone", "National Smart Healthy Elderly Care Demonstration Base" and other honors. In 2021, it won the United Nations International Awards for Liveable Communities and the "Healthy Lifestyle" Criteria Award, forming a unique “Qihe Model” of age-friendly city construction.
In Qihe, the coverage rate of accessible facilities is 96.87%. The average walking distance to a bus stop is no more than 500 meters. The average daily bus card swiping proportion of the elderly is 46%. The elderly-oriented buses in the whole area are free to ride. The health management rate for the elderly is 75.67%. The number of registered elderly volunteers accounts for 16.52% of the elderly population.
In Qihe, the contract rate for home-based elderly care services is 100%, and the monthly visit rate for the elderly with special difficulties is 100%. The innovative practices such as the Elderly University, public welfare training classes for the elderly, and monthly special training on intelligent technology for the elderly ensure that the elderly with behavioral capabilities can travel independently, live freely, and have sufficient intergenerational exchanges, socializing opportunities, information communication, and the ability to cope with and bridge the digital gap.
In Qihe, there are 2,323 fitness venues for all ages, and 42% of the elderly regularly participate in sports activities. The promotion of traditional Chinese sports including Tai Chi, Wu Qin Xi, etc. makes the elderly energetic. The model of “regimen and elderly care with traditional Chinese medicine” and the combination of medical and elderly-care resources makes the elderly healthy, optimistic and live longer. In Qihe, more than 16.52% of the elderly continue to contribute to society through re-employment and volunteer status. Prestige elderly people among the masses are willing to form an “Old Friends Council”, and they have volunteered to mediate neighborhood disputes for a long time. The "Public Legal Service Circle" and "Legal Aid Green Channel" opened by the Qihe government can well protect the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly.
In recent years, Qihe has also taken advantage of its abundant natural resources to develop the elderly care industry, and create a diversified industrial cluster of culture, tourism and health care that integrates hot spring recuperation, wellness and regimen, and leisure and vacation. More than 50 high-end enterprises in the elderly care industries such as biomedicine, medical equipment, health care, etc. have been attracted to Qihe for investment and business, and the output value of the health care industry accounts for 21% of the total GDP. An innovative model of age-friendly city construction has been developed that uses the advantages of ecological resources to promote the harmonious development of the economy, society and environment.