The number of Chinese senior citizens is expected to reach 430 million in 2050, 30 percent of the total population, and over 20% of Chinese senior citizens rely on their pensions, the Beijing Times reports.

An elderly citizen, accompanied by her family, visits a park in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 2, 2012. During the 8-day-long holiday, many aged people in China enjoy themselves by traveling. [Photo/Xinhua]

Du Peng, director of Research Institute of Gerontology at Renmin University of China says that 24.1% of Chinese senior citizens rely on their pensions, and 40.7% of those surveyed are cared for by their families or relatives, as of 2010. Also, the number of the seniors relying on the subsistence allowance system increased from 1.6 to 3.9% over the past 10 years.

Du believes the amount of Chinese senior citizens relying on the pension and subsistence allowance system has increased a great deal due to the rapid development of the social security system. In line with other developed countries, the main income source for seniors is from their pensions.

However, the income gap for seniors in urban and rural areas is quite large. Du said that the benefits of rural social security are lower than those on urban social security.

Arie Hoekman, the UN Population Fund's China representative, said on Monday at a seminar on aging that there will be one senior in every three Chinese citizens by 2050.

China has about 185 million people above the age of 60, or 13.7 percent of the population, as of the end of last year. And the figure is expected to surge to 221 million in 2015, including 51 million "empty nesters," or elderly people whose children no longer live with them.

Experts at the seminar recommend improving economic and health support, building more facilities for urban and rural senior residents, encouraging them to participate in social activities and establishing a medical treatment network for the aging population.

This year's Chongyang Festival falls on October 23, which is the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, also called the Double Ninth Festival, or celebrated as Seniors' Day.