Few cultures like to talk about death, and in China the subject has long been an unbreakable taboo. Despite the deep-seated fear, death is becoming an increasingly jarring presence in the country as it tries to cope with a rapidly aging population. In this context, China has seen great advancement in the field of hospice care over the past few decades.

Unlike traditional medical care, which tends to focus on treatment and cure, hospice care is aimed at alleviating pain and keeping patients comfortable in their final days, so that they can live to the end of their lives as fully, peacefully and dignifiedly as possible.

In 1987, the country's first hospice, Songtang Care Hospital, opened in Beijing. The arrival of hospice care also brought with it the concept of whole-person care, a holistic, patient-centered approach to clinical care that attends to both the physical wellness and the emotional needs of a patient.

In 2016, the central authorities issued Healthy China 2030, a plan that sets out many goals for China's public health sector. One of these goals is to incorporate hospice care into the country's integrated network of senior care services. In October 2017, the country's first pilot hospice care centers were set up in Beijing, Shanghai, Jilin Province, Henan Province, and Sichuan Province. Since then, hospices, some housed in hospitals and others in community-based clinics, have emerged across the country.

(Lifeweek, July 3)