Chongqing - Could your ceiling call for help if an elderly person falls without invading their privacy? For Du, an elderly woman living alone in Chongqing, a millimeter wave radar detects falls or prolonged inactivity without cameras or wearable devices, alerting both caregivers and her children.
Du‘s home is one example of a wider effort taking shape across Chongqing. Communities are testing millimeter wave radar and AI elderly care platforms, while products designed for older people, including smart bathing systems and nonslip handrails, are reaching more households.
The Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology recently released its 2026 catalog of products for older adults, featuring 41 products from 23 local companies in areas including smart elderly care and health monitoring.
The catalog reflects the industry’s shift from basic component manufacturing to integrated smart elderly care solutions, adding fresh momentum to the silver economy.
At an elderly care service center in Shapingba District, Zhang, an older man with limited mobility, now uses a smart bathing assistance system whenever he takes a shower.
The bathroom is free of cluttered pipes and wires. A mobile bathing bed safely transfers him into the bathing area. At the push of a button, the system starts automatically, maintaining a constant water temperature, while non-slip safety rails provide secure support. Caregivers can complete the entire bathing process without having to lift or move him.
"Bathing used to be difficult. My family members or caregivers had to lift me into the bath. It was tiring for everyone, and we were always worried about slipping," Zhang said. "Now I can take a shower lying on the bathing bed, and I no longer have to worry about bathing."
The smart bathing assistance system is among the key age-friendly products featured in the catalog. Designed for older people with disabilities or limited mobility, it aims to make bathing safer and more comfortable. The system is currently being piloted in several elderly care facilities and home-based care settings.
The 41 products cover a wide range of applications, including millimeter-wave radar monitoring equipment, AI-enabled elderly care platforms, smart bathing assistance systems, multifunctional care beds, and rehabilitation and assistive devices. They are designed for home-based care, rehabilitation, and nursing.
An anti choking device for older adults is among the products featured in the catalog. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology)
"Developing age-friendly products cannot be done behind closed doors. We have to listen to what older people and caregivers really think and need," said an official with the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology.
In earlier years, age-friendly products were mainly basic hardware such as non-slip handrails and walkers. Today, more enterprises are integrating artificial intelligence and sensing technologies into their products, shifting from passive assistance to proactive safety monitoring.
On Sept. 8, a reporter visited the workshop of an elderly care products company in Liangjiang New Area. Workers were assembling age-friendly handrails and portable rehabilitation equipment, while quality inspectors tested the height adjustment and assisted repositioning functions of care beds.
"We used to mainly process hardware components for age-friendly products. The technical barriers were low, and competition was fierce," said the head of the company.
As demand for elderly care products has grown, the company has established its own R&D team and conducted research in community-based elderly care settings to develop products such as multifunctional care beds.
Chongqing's well-established manufacturing base provides strong support for product development. Motors, hardware components and sensors can be sourced locally for trial production, allowing prototypes to be developed and refined quickly.
"Once a prototype is ready, we can send it directly to elderly care facilities for caregivers and bedridden older people to try out, collect their feedback and make improvements," the company head said.
An official with the Production Services Division of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology said Chongqing’s strong manufacturing base provides a complete industrial chain supporting the R&D and mass production of products for older adults.
The local silver economy is increasingly driven by two groups of enterprises: technology companies focusing on AI algorithms, radar sensing, and elderly care platform development, and manufacturers specializing in age-friendly home products and rehabilitation and assistive equipment. Together, they are promoting closer integration of software and hardware.
Chongqing also offers diverse settings for product application. Community elderly care service centers and home-based age-friendly renovation projects allow companies to pilot products, collect user feedback, and refine them, forming a cycle of R&D, testing, feedback, and optimization.
By the end of 2025, China had 323 million people aged 60 and above, accounting for 23 percent of the total population. Chongqing had 8.29 million people aged 60 and above, including 5.99 million aged 65 and above, indicating significant potential in the silver economy.
A large elderly population creates demand, but turning that demand into industrial growth will depend on affordability, payment mechanisms, and access to distribution channels.
"The elderly care products sector offers huge opportunities, but it also faces significant challenges," said Yang Yifan, a professor at Southwest Jiaotong University and deputy director of the International Institute of Aging Sciences.
Many age-friendly product companies remain focused on individual products and have limited brand influence, Yang said. Some smart elderly care devices are also relatively expensive, while sales and distribution channels remain to be expanded.
Another challenge is the disconnect between supply and demand, with older people and communities often unaware of high-quality age-friendly products.
The release of the product catalog is an effort to address this gap. The catalog provides official recognition for products made by Chongqing companies and helps them connect with community renovation projects, elderly care facilities, and household consumers, reducing marketing costs and encouraging more businesses to enter the silver economy.
Zhou Xuexin, a professor at Chongqing Normal University, said Chongqing's silver economy would move beyond individual hardware products toward integrated solutions combining hardware equipment, smart platforms, and elderly care services.
"Building on its digital development, Chongqing can continue to expand applications such as remote health follow-ups and smart rehabilitation guidance, turning its manufacturing and application advantages into industrial competitiveness," Zhou said.
With its manufacturing strengths and diverse application settings, Chongqing is seeking new growth opportunities in the silver economy by developing age-friendly products and strengthening its industry ecosystem.
(Li Jiayan, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)
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