Editor's note: Falling on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Chongyang Festival is also called the Double Ninth Festival. It is named as Chongyang Festival because according to the Chinese astrology, nine is a 'Yang' character meaning masculine or positive and 'Chong' in Chinese means double. As both the month and the day are nine, it got this name.
The population of elderly people aged over 65 in the world is expected to surpass one billion in 2030. The acceleration of aging requires governments perfect elderly people's later years. Let's have a look how they enjoy their lives worldwide.
A British World War II veteran has become the world's oldest scuba diver for the second time - aged 95.
Ray Woolley scoured the watery depths around the shipwreck of the Zenobia, a cargo vessel which sank about 2km off the southern Cypriot town of Larnaca in 1980 on its maiden voyage. He already holds the record as the oldest active male scuba diver.
On September 1, Ray dived to a maximum depth of 40.5 meters for 44 minutes, beating his previous record of 41 minutes and 38.1 meters - when he was 94.
Daphne Bernard set off at 6.15 pm from Headcorn airfield in Kent on June 4, 2012, just before the jubilee concert kicked off at Buckingham Palace.
The grandmother hopes her parachute jump will raise money for the Alzheimer's Society in memory of her late husband, Vic.
Daphne says her secret to fitness is playing badminton with her friends the 'Golden Oldies' while the Queen attributes her fitness to countryside walks.
The self-confessed "daredevil" leaped into record books by paragliding off the mountain peak. The jump was to mark McAlpine's 100th birthday, which she had celebrated the day before when she received a congratulatory telegram from the Queen.
A grandmother-of-five from Bristol has celebrated her 80th birthday by scuba diving on a World War I battleship.
Pat Fung celebrated her landmark birthday by diving with fellow members of the British Sub-Aqua Cluba's Bristol Diving Club, on the 35 meter (115ft) deep wreck of the SS Kronprinz Wilhelm, at Scapa Flow in Scotland.
It comes just three years after Pat was appointed a BSAC. Pat, who lives with husband Iggy in Hotwells, was chosen as a role model due to her "can do" attitude, having taken up scuba diving at the age of 67, after trying out snorkeling while on holiday in the Maldives.
The former university lecturer and researcher then joined the British Sub-Aqua Club's Bristol Diving Club, also known as Bristol No 3 branch as it was the third BSAC club to be formed in the UK, and from there developed a love of diving.
In her 80th year Pat has already dived in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Egypt, with fellow BSAC Bristol No 3 branch club members, as well as UK diving in Dorset and Scotland.
For the day of her 80th birthday Pat was accompanied in the Orkneys by a group of fellow members including her dive buddy Mark Hall, a BSAC Advanced Diver and Open Water Instructor.
Flowers, a British grandmother turned disc jockey, is conquering French night clubs and festivals with her mix of old-school hits, electro beats and bling-bling style, and she is working on a single, due to be released this spring.
Former Olympic gymnast from Leeds continues to perform gravity-defying routines at the age of 84 - and she can even do the splits. She proves age is no barrier as she continues to perform gravity-defying gymnastics routines at the age of 84 - she can even do the SPLITS.
Marjorie Carter, a grandmother-of-five, competed for Great Britain at the 1952 and 1960 Games in Helsinki and Rome before going on to coach the sport.
Amazingly, the octogenarian refused to let old age slow her down and can still perform cartwheels, stand on her head and aims to be still doing the splits when she's a 100.
Inspiringly Marjorie has maintained her Olympian training standards and trains three times a week in the gym - regularly starting her workouts at 6am. She is now hoping to encourage other elderly people to remain active and independent.
A "thrilled" woman's dream came true after she had her first-ever driving lesson- at 92 years old. Vera Creasy has always felt left out being the only member of her family unable to drive.
When the former Kodak secretary was growing up there was no money or time to learn. Then Vera met her husband and because he could drive and life got in the way she never learned. But recently the grandmother-of-four made a wish through her care home's wishing tree scheme.
The scheme allows its elderly residents to write down their dreams and submit them. Previously, the home has even managed to arrange a meeting with the Pope for one of their resident.
As soon as he saw Vera's wish the home manager at Whitby Dene, Saad Baig, set to work to make it come true. He got in touch with the manager of the Young Driver driving school in Hillingdon, who agreed to give Vera her first driving lesson. Baig, said: "Every resident is different, and we like to make sure they all feel at home here at Whitby Dene."
AN 85-year-old grandmother is hoping to prove she still has a spring in her step, as she trains to compete in her latest athletics competition. Christie Du Ploy, from South Africa, is aiming for a hat-trick of gold medals as she represents her country in the 100m, 200m and 400m competitions at this year's World Masters Athletics Championship.
The competition - which is only open to people over 35 years of age - sees athletes from around the world compete in various track and field events. The grandmother of 13 first got involved in athletics at the age of 58 after her late husband, who was also a runner, encouraged her to get involved in the sport.
When work is up, surf is up in Brazil, as a group of retired citizens take to the waves in keep-fit, keep-young sessions at a surf school in the city of Santos. The classes are run for free, three times a week at the Cisco Arana School, which aims to prove that age is just a number.
Anthony Allsop waited 14 years to walk from Lands End to John O'Groats to become the world's oldest person to complete long walk. A great-granddad determined to get his name in the Guinness book of world records waited 14 years to become the oldest person to walk from Lands End to John O'Groats.
Keen walker Anthony Allsop began his epic journey just after his 75th birthday in July last year with a new plan after a failed first attempt and Darwin, his teddy bear companion bought as a good luck mascot by his wife. The retired wall and floor tiler finished the epic walk in 56 days and said he was "thrilled" to have achieved the world record.
A 68-year-old performs yoga poses on a BMX bike - while suspended over a deadly 300 foot drop. Khiv Raj Gurjar, from Jodhpur in the Indian state of Rajasthan, is the world's finest exponent of extreme yoga.
The pension-age daredevil spends an hour each day running through up to 45 individual yoga poses on his bike - while perched on the edge of a vertiginous 300 foot cliff.
World Cup fever has spread to South African grannies, with hundreds of poor, elderly women in aprons and skirts fighting for the ball in township games. Twice a week they swap domestic chores for football, donning soccer boots instead of their usual rubber sandals to play in local matches.
The event was held to promote greater self-esteem among senior citizens, according to organizer Nilton Guedes.
Sun City was built in 1959 by entrepreneur Del Webb as America's first active retirement community for the over-55's. Del Webb predicted that retirees would flock to a community where they were given more than just a house with a rocking chair in which to sit and wait to die.
Today's residents keep their minds and bodies active by socializing at over 120 clubs with activities such as square dancing, ceramics, roller skating, computers, cheerleading, racquetball and yoga. There are 38,500 residents in the community with an average age 72.4 years.
Meet Britain's oldest female power-lifter who survived a 30-year battle with cancer by eating raw food and lifting weights. Europe Champion Pat Reeves, 69, claims she beat brain cancer and 14 bone cancer tumors by saying no to NHS drugs and competing in the power lifting circuits.
The grandmother-of-two has picked up trophies and titles for the last 26 years successfully breaking records and becoming World champion and British Champion in her category for the last 5 years. Standing in at just 4 ft 9 inches and lifting with the competitive bodyweight of 50 kilograms the OAP specializes in dead lifts lifting around 90 to 100 kilos.
Now preparing for her 70th birthday, pint-sized Pat is hoping to break further world records by being the oldest woman to compete in the world next year.
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