An elderly Chinese man, Han Zicheng, had put himself up for adoption as he felt extremely lonely. The 85-year-old man, who unfortunately could not find a family, reportedly died on March 17.
According to The Washington Post, the Chinese pensioner, who survived the Japanese invasion, wrote the ad in December last year hoping a person or a family would adopt him into their family.
"Looking for someone to adopt me. Lonely old man in his 80s. Strong-bodied. Can shop, cook and take care of himself. No chronic illness. I retired from a scientific research institute in Tianjin, with a monthly pension of 6,000 RMB (£700) a month," he wrote in the advert.
"I won't go to a nursing home. My hope is that a kind-hearted person or family will adopt me, nourish me through old age and bury my body when I'm dead," the advert reads.
The lonely pensioner also taped a copy of the advert to a bus shelter. The ad went viral and was also shared on various social media platforms. Soon a lot of people began to reach out to him. The popular video sharing platform Pear Video also did a story on Zicheng.
Zicheng also attempted to reach out to Beijing Love Delivery Hotline, a helpline for the elderly in China. Although his sons claimed that he was taken care of till his death and was not lonely at all.
One of his sons even told The Washington Post, "This could happen anywhere."
This kind of problem is not very rare in China as the country is aging faster than any other low or middle-income countries, according to World Health Organisation.
Besides this, there is another factor, which is also one of the reasons, that led to this kind of situation — the one-child policy.
The policy turned China's population upside down. Now the 15 percent people of the Chinese population are over 60. The number will increase a lot by 2040. And, it is expected to be one in four by then.
