Today marks the Double Ninth Festival, an occasion for Chinese people all over the world to go hiking, appreciate chrysanthemums as a symbol of longevity and show respect for the elderly.
Looming large over the horizon is one of the most critical issues facing the mainland and requiring immediate, high-level attention from the central government - the ageing population.
The mainland is rapidly becoming an ageing society. That will no doubt have profound implications for its pattern of future economic growth as pressure mounts on the labour supply, medical care, pensions and social fabric. But, for the mainland's leadership, the window for tackling those challenges is closing fast.
Officials forecast the population of mainlanders aged 65 or above is rising by eight million annually. By 2047, the number of elderly is forecast to reach 320 million, up from 104 million in 2007 - in short, one mainlander in five will be 65 or older.
Mainland experts predict the window for cashing in on the demographic dividend - the rise in economic output as the percentage of working people increases while the birth rate falls faster than the ageing rate - is expected to close in 2033. This means the mainland has just 24 years left.
But Beijing is inadequately prepared in this area, to say the least. A Xinhua news item yesterday provided interesting context. It reported that Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu chaired a meeting in Beijing, on the eve of the festival, to launch a strategic study that will give the government scientific data on which to base effective policies dealing with the ageing population.