China’s largest private education company in terms of market value has begun offering leisure courses such as dance and photography for older adults in Beijing, reports the South China Morning Post. This comes as it pivots towards the country’s fast-growing silver economy.
Since a ban on for-profit tutoring in core academic subjects in 2021, New Oriental has diversified into new areas, including live streaming e-commerce. Amid falling birth rates and a prolonged decline in the number of Chinese students studying in the United States, its latest foray targets older consumers.
“The silver economy has strong growth potential,” said Fu Yifu, a special researcher at Su Merchants Bank in Nanjing, eastern Jiangsu province. As the sector expands, Fu said, demand among seniors was rising for hobbies, social interaction and emotional well-being.