Seniors given a bonus to mark festival

Senior card holders are to receive various preferential treatments to mark the upcoming Chongyang Festival, which falls on Saturday.

Shanghai Disney Resort offers half-price one-day tickets to seniors over 65 before the end of November if they made the purchase before November 10.

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum will give free admission to seniors over 70 through the end of October. Those aged from 65 to 69 years old will get a half-price discount.

Chongyang Festival is also known as the Double Ninth Festival because it falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar. It is a time for people to climb to a high place to improve their prospects and show respect to the elderly.

So far, 28 5A-level and 4A-level tourist attractions (5A is the top level) in Shanghai are offering free or discounted admissions to seniors over 65 years old following the establishment of the "Shanghai senior card alliance" in June.

Among them, the Shanghai Wildlife Park provides half-price tickets, while senior residents over 65 have free admission, via their senior cards, to Chenshan Botanical Garden, Gucun Park, Zhaojialou Ancient Town and Wusong Paotaiwan Wetland Forest Park.

Shanghai's senior population in 2016 grew 5 percent from 2015 to reach 4.58 million, accounting for more than 31 percent of permanent residents, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.