Confucius taught the Chinese to stay by their aging parents' bed for sake of filial piety, but today's elderly are turning to public and private organizations when their children are unable to care for them.

　　Bo Guobin, 86, is one of them. A widower for over 10 years, the retired government official moved into a senior citizens' home in Chongqing last year.

　　The move sparked gossip among relatives and neighbors on his family relations, but he quickly quashed the rumors by inviting them to see his new home.

　　"I enjoy the fresh air and companionship of other elderly people," Bo said. It's cheaper to live here than in the town. My family can visit me on holidays."

　　In the past, sending parents to a seniors' home was regarded as abandonment and moral degeneration.

　　China has 130 million people over 60 years old, about 10 percent of the country's population, according to statistics from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. They have created a market for a booming private enterprise sector.

　　For example, senior citizens' homes in Chongqing can accommodate 8,000 pensioners, but over 50,000 want to live in them, according to a recent survey by Chongqing Municipal Civil Affairs Department.

　　"The industry is promising because most Chinese families have only one child and it's difficult for a single person to support two parents nowadays," said Liu Changyuan, a peasant-turned-businessman, who set up a seniors' home with 500,000 yuan (US$60,240) four years ago in Chongqing.

　　Liu's building has 60 beds, and each resident is charged 300 yuan a month to live a catered life at the foot of the scenic Gele Mountain.

　　Pension insurance is the main income allowing the elderly to afford life in senior citizens homes, said Yang Tuan, a researcher with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

　　However, only 2.8 percent of rural elderly people can obtain pension, while the figure is 65 percent in cities.

　　As China upgrades its pension insurance system, more rural elderly people will be able to afford living in senior citizens' homes.