With less children born to each couple since the 1980s, and a rapid increase in how long people live, China faces an unparalleled problem of how to cope with its aging population. By 2000, the population aged 65 and older was almost 90 million, and the could reach 300 million by 2050 (United Nations, World Population Ageing 2007, New York: UN Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2007): 202-203. With young people increasingly moving away from the countryside to make a living family units are breaking down, and traditional reverence for the elderly is under strain. The so-called 1-2-4 problem (One child: two parents: four grandparents) means that there is an urgent need for new solutions in state and community care. While China has the biggest problem in the world, it also has unique potential for mobilising a population with a strong sense of tradition.