A survey published Monday by the China Gerontological Society shows that China has 48,921 centenarians, an increase of 5,228 from last year’s figure, Xinhua reported.

Luo Meizhen, a 126-year-old woman from south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, defended her title as the oldest person on the mainland.

With a combined age of 213, the oldest couple is found in Guizhou province.

The average life expectancy of Chinese people is 73.5 years and the country's 12th Five-Year Program endeavors to increase that figure by one year in the next five years.