Three more people have passed the century mark in Rugao, known
as the longevity town of China, bringing the total number of
centenarians there to 251.
The town, in eastern China, has only 1.45 million residents,
meaning that it has a ratio of 17 centenarians per 100,000 people.
That's well above the International Natural Medicine Association
standard of a longevity region that calls for at least seven
centenarians per 100,000 people, according to a local civil affairs
official.
The eldest person in Rugao is a 109-year-old woman named Zhang
Tianshi, who has been interviewed by numerous domestic and foreign
journalists. The town, in Jiangsu Province, has 2,097 persons aged
above 95, about 5,800 people above 90 and 49,000 people above 80
years, the official added.
Nobody knows why Ruago people live so long. Media reports have
given many reasons, which range from eating porridge twice a day or
consuming many local radishes, to gaining some benefit from the
forest coverage.
Some also believe that high levels of respect from descendants
and the general public have contributed.
Whatever the cause, China is expected to have more centenarians
in the coming years as lifespans increase. The Ministry of Health
said earlier this month that the average life expectancy in China
has risen from 71.4 years in 2000 to 73 in 2005.
The report concluded that "the health condition of both rural
and urban residents further improved," giving as another example
the fact that the infant mortality rate fell from 25.5 per 1,000
newborns in 2003 to 15.3 per 1,000 last year.
The southern island province of Hainan reported 691 centenarians
last year, double the figure in 2000. More than 80 percent of them
are women and most are living in the countryside.
The mild climate and clean environment are considered to be the
main reasons Hainan has become "an island of longevity".
(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2008)