Hong Kong’s Elderly Are Increasingly Retiring in Mainland China

After a career as a human resources executive in Hong Kong, Grace Sin is happily retired. The 84-year-old keeps busy at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Helping Hand Zhaoqing Home for the Elderly, chatting with residents and staff, playing mahjong, clocking 7,000 daily steps on strolls around the spacious grounds and occasionally dabbling in calligraphy and karaoke.

Sin, though, no longer lives in Hong Kong. Despite its name, the home lies 120 miles from Hong Kong—in the city of Zhaoqing, in the mainland’s Guangdong province. She moved there in October, drawn by the community, level of care and bigger spaces on offer. “Everything here is comfortable, and I can easily travel to Hong Kong whenever I want,” she says. “In Hong Kong the homes are small, and there are so many people.”