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BEIJING, Oct. 7-- It is a traditional virtue for the Chinese to respect the elderly. On Chongyang Festival, equivalent to China's Seniors' Day on Monday, senior citizens nationwide received greetings from President Xi Jinping. Xi wished senior people all over the country a long, healthy, and happy life in reply to a letter written earlier by 30 senior residents in Macao. China has a senior population of around 250 million. The authorities have attached great importance to senior care services. Xi himself has many interactions with the elderly over the past few years. In February 2013, in a nursing home visit in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, Xi brought a dish of food to the elderly in the canteen, extending Spring Festival greetings to them and wishing them happy and healthy. Days before the New Year's Day of 2017, Xi visited a nursing home in Beijing, talking with senior citizens and asking about their health, families and life at the nursing home. Xi was delighted to hear that they were not only well-fed and well-clothed, but also had plenty of activities, from learning to use a computer to playing diabolo, a traditional Chinese folk game. Xi wished them happiness. Passing by the dining room, Xi noticed a weekly recipe on the wall and stopped to ask if the variety of dishes could accommodate different tastes. Xi showed approval after learning that six dishes were offered every day and people with mobility difficulties had the meals delivered to them. | 
