On April 6, 2017 (March 10, 2017 in the lunar calendar), China's first free temple nursing home. According to the Washington Post reported on April 6, 2017, there is a Jixiang Temple in a rural area near Shaxian County, Fujian Province, China. In 2000, Master Neng Qing opened a nursing home in the temple to look after the helpless elderly. Generous locals bring food to the nursing home, and government funding is used to repair the houses and provide basic medical care for those living here. Canadian photographer Kevin? Fryer came to Kichijoji Temple in March 2016 and took a set of moving photos of the temple and its residents. Master Neng Qing, 81, is one of the founders of the nursing home, and she is accompanied by an old man who lives here. (Source: AOL) After two old people tidy up their clothes (Source: AOL) After chanting and praying, the old people living here walked out of the main hall. (Source: AOL) Before eating, the old man was praying. (Photo source: AOL) Li Laifeng, 70, has been a volunteer doctor here for 20 years. She is examining an elderly man. (Photo source: AOL) An old man offers incense in front of the main hall (Photo source: AOL) An old man who lives here walks by the main hall (Photo source: AOL) Qiu Farong, 87, and his wife Wei Chaidi, 86, walk on the path after praying and having lunch in the monastery. (Source: AOL) [Extended reading] Chanting sutras and being vegetarian-the days of temple care. There are about 100 elderly people living in Jixiang Temple Nursing Home in Xianmi, Shaxian County, Fujian Province. This nursing home is the first free nursing home in China. It was founded in October 1999 by monks such as the 81-year-old abbot Master Zhao Zen and the 77-year-old dean of Kichijoji Temple. Master Zhao Zen suffered from bone cancer in 1994, and Zhao Zen made a big wish: "If the illness is good, I will set up a Buddhist nursing home, and accept 100 helpless elderly people who are suffering to live in, cultivate themselves and study Buddhism, and take care of their lives." After making this wish, more than a month later, he was seriously ill and gradually recovered. Master Zhao Chan and Master Neng Qing then ran around to organize nursing homes. In 2000, the nursing home officially accepted the first batch of 18 lonely elderly people. Now, among the 100 elderly people in nursing homes, two are over 100 years old. [Photo: Elder Zhaochan] The nursing home has two small three-story buildings, which are arranged on the left and right sides of the temple. They can accommodate about 120 elderly people, each equipped with a bathroom and a water heater. The nursing home has an infirmary, where colds and colds can be solved. With the support of the local government, Shaxian People's Hospital provides free physical examination for the elderly once a year. Once the old man is seriously ill, ambulances from big hospitals will be dispatched. The elderly in nursing homes come from all over the world. Most of them are clear-minded, quick-moving, self-care, and most of them are Buddhist believers. They chant sutras and Buddha names every day, usually stroll on Daping and bask in the sun, and live a peaceful and happy old age with faith and sustenance. Many elderly people were frail and sickly before moving in, but after moving in, their health gradually improved and they were full of energy. Nursing homes currently provide a peaceful living environment for the elderly in their later years by donations from temple guardians (believers), long-term care by volunteers, mutual assistance for the elderly, and daily management by permanent monks and nuns. There are 2 specialized nursing staff and more than 60 nursing volunteers in Kichijoji Temple. Every week, the list of meal recipes is published on the wall. Although the food here is vegetarian, the chef can cook a variety of delicious vegetarian dishes, which will make people feast. Utilities, food and daily necessities mainly come from donations from enthusiastic people such as industrial and commercial enterprises. With the deepening of aging, the problem of social pension is becoming more and more prominent. The temple has the wind of doing good and the heart of kindness. Its advocacy of Buddhist spirit is in line with the peaceful mentality of the elderly in their later years. There are many temples in China, which are widely distributed, and many of them are located in rural areas. Xianmi Jixiang Temple in Shaxian County, a temple pension method, has made a special attempt to solve this problem, and it provides an effective way to solve the rural pension problem.