Rural Mutual Aid Elderly Care in China: Practice Models and Case Analysis

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.

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 Basisdemokratische Strukturen in Taiwan (Springer, 2024). His scholarship is widely recognized for its policy relevance and contribution to China’s governance modernization.

Qinghua Guan is a lecturer at the School of Marxism, Chongqing Polytechnic University of Electronic Technology, with a Ph.D. in Political Science. His teaching and research focus on grassroots governance, rural politics, and aging governance. He previously taught at the Party School of Dazhu County in Sichuan Province and the Party School of Banan District in Chongqing. He later pursued his doctoral studies at the Institute of Political Science and National Governance and the Institute for China Rural Studies at Central China Normal University. His research centers on the transformation of grassroots social structures, village-to-community governance, and the political logic of mobilization and governance under the strategy of rural revitalization. He combines theoretical inquiry with empirical field research and demonstrates strong interdisciplinary research and analytical capabilities.