This book offers a comprehensive exploration of innovative mutual aid elderly care models in rural China, encompassing community-driven, government-supported, and market-participated approaches. Drawing on rich case studies, it analyzes strategies that address the pressing challenges of an aging rural population, with a distinctive Chinese perspective on care provision. This book highlights pathways for effective resource integration, active community engagement, and long-term sustainability. Aimed at policymakers, researchers, and practitioners, it delivers actionable insights and novel solutions to the global challenge of population aging. By deepening understanding of China’s rural elderly care systems, this book provides valuable lessons with broad relevance for aging societies worldwide.
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. The Government-Led Model: Administration-Driven Rural Mutual Aid Elderly Care in China.- Chapter 3. The Organizational Guidance Model: Civil Society Support for Rural Mutual Aid Elderly Care in China.- Chapter 4. Spontaneous Mass Movements: The Self-Governance Perspective on Mutual Aid in Rural Elder Care in China.- Chapter 5. The Market Participation Model: Practice Innovations in China’s Rural Mutual Aid Elderly Care System.
Yaguang Hao is a professor at Institute for China Rural Studies and Institute for Advanced Study in Political Science at Central China Normal University. He holds advisory roles in several national and provincial expert bodies on grassroots governance and rural affairs. His research bridges theory and practice in rural revitalization, grassroots governance, and water governance reform. He has authored multiple influential monographs, including Grassroots Governance in China (Springer, 2025), Grassroots Governance in Taiwan (Springer, 2023), The River Chief System (Springer, 2023), and the German edition BasisdemokratisclC$