Guangzhou, a city with 2.21 million registered residence registered population aged 60 and above, has developed a silver economy of 340 billion yuan in 2025.

On April 22nd, at the Guangzhou Silver Hair Economy Investment Promotion (Huangpu) and the 2nd Guangzhou Smart Health Care (Suitable for the Elderly) Equipment Innovation Design Competition held in Huangpu, Guangzhou, officials from the government and industry successively commented that the silver hair economy is not only "windy", but also "wolf like".

Southern Metropolis Daily reports that Guangzhou's silver economy has a scale of over 340 billion yuan, and Huangpu District has been selected to build an industrial highland - the 2026 Old Expo (2). jpg

The reporter learned from the meeting that the second Guangzhou Smart Health and Wellness (Elderly friendly) Equipment Innovation Design Competition (hereinafter referred to as the "Competition") is expected to start in May. This year's competition has positioned intelligent elderly care service robots as the core track, and has further divided into six key directions, covering the core needs of the elderly population such as disability care, emotional companionship, and health management.

Both products and ideas can participate in the competition. This year's competition adopts a dual track parallel mode, on the one hand, it targets universities, research institutions, and designers to collect original creative works that have not been commercially used; On the other hand, it is aimed at enterprises and institutions, accepting high-quality products with mature technology, truly realizing the export of creativity and the market for products.

The competition has become an important carrier for silver haired economic projects to find high-quality development areas and attract investment in Guangzhou. Li Rui, member of the Party Group and Deputy Director of the Guangzhou Civil Affairs Bureau, introduced that the 2024 competition attracted nearly 400 projects from around the world, with 40 projects standing out and 9 projects signed and implemented.

Guangzhou aims to develop Huangpu District into an industrial hub and highland for the silver economy. The competition entries will be given priority in Huangpu District. At the meeting, Li Zhongxu, member of the Party Group and Deputy Director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Huangpu District, Guangzhou, made a recommendation and release for the competition. He introduced that this competition will rely on Huangpu's "10 Policies for Silver Hair Economy" to provide full process support for participating entities and settled enterprises. Huangpu District will assist in connecting industrial resources, handling registration, conducting publicity and promotion, and giving priority to recommending award-winning products to various elderly care scenarios.

Huangpu District has established a certain foundation and scale for the development of silver economy. At the meeting, He Yuhong, a member of the Party Group and Deputy District Mayor of Huangpu District Government, introduced a set of data. Currently, Huangpu District has gathered over 600 high-quality enterprises with silver hair economy and an industrial scale of over 60 billion yuan.

The reporter noticed that the Silver Hair Chain platform under the China International Elderly Care and Health Industry Expo has established a global product selection center at Huangpu Junheng Square. The center will create a global silver industry resource docking platform that integrates product selection, display, trading, and incubation. Luo Zhi, co-founder and general manager of Yinfa Chain, told reporters that the platform was established last year and has landed offline for the first time this year. It plans to open ten stores nationwide this year and is currently looking for partners. In the silver haired economy market, there is no shortage of good products and services, but there is a lack of a chain connecting the silver haired population. "Luo Zhi introduced that the silver haired chain aims to solve the problems of trust and matching. Yinfa Chain will rely on the enterprise resources of the Old Expo to bring good products into the community through offline stores.

Southern Metropolis Daily reports that Guangzhou's silver economy has a scale of over 340 billion yuan, and Huangpu District has been selected to build an industrial highland - the 2026 Old Expo (1). jpg

At the Silver Hair Chain Global Selection Center, various types of elderly care aids were showcased.

As an annual exhibition event in the field of Guangzhou's silver economy, the Guangzhou Elderly Expo will be held from August 21st to 23rd at the Canton Fair Exhibition Hall. The Guangzhou Old Expo has received strong support from the first level government of Guangzhou and has been included in the 2026 Guangzhou Municipal Government Work Report.

Produced by Nandu Guangzhou News Department

Reported by: Nandu N Video Reporter Dai Guohui