只有小孩子才能玩玩具吗？
Fang Shuqi, 85, talks about these toys in a toy store for seniors in Beijing, China, January 22, 2021. Wang Xiaonan/CGTN
对于千禧年之后出生的很多年轻人来说，投壶、滚铁环、九连环都已经成为陌生的词语了。然而在他们出生之前的很长一段时间里，这些“古早”玩具陪伴了一代又一代人的童年。
随着时间的推移，这些玩具被一些人遗忘，又被另一些人努力留驻。去年的重阳节，一家专为老年人准备的玩具店在北京通州悄悄开张了。
玩具店名叫“老有所玩”，占地180平方米，背靠一个拥有两万多户人家的社区，收集了超过400种怀旧玩具。社区里的老人只要愿意走进这家小店，大都能在这里找到曾经的记忆。
Pitch-pot, hoop and pole, and ring puzzles may sound foreign to you, but they were once "treasures" of a generation – the country's booming aging population.
Over time, these games took a back seat as life moved on. That is, until recently a toy store in southeast Beijing brought these memories back – it is so far the only toy store for seniors in the country.
Spanning an area of some 180 square meters, the store boasts more than 400 toys designed especially for seniors, amid rafts of green plants, two little parrots and some goldfish.
Seniors in this neighborhood, which has approximately 20,000 households, are elated to find a toy store just for them. While some are still too embarrassed to visit, those who walk in find the experience to be nostalgic.
"I haven't seen the hoop and pole for decades," said Liu Yuliang, a retired veteran who lives upstairs and visits the store at least twice a day. He would play billiards for a few hours by himself. "I'm very excited to see a store full of toys exclusively for us. Playing helps exercise my mind."
这家玩具店的主人叫宋德龙。在过去的15年中，身处广告行业的宋德龙一直在与服务老年人的企业打交道。
2009年，宋德龙萌生了为老年人开一家玩具店的想法，但他花了十年时间才将这个想法付诸现实。
在接受CGTN采访时宋德龙表示，人们总是更愿意关心老年人的身体健康，而不是他们的精神世界。
The toy store opened for business on October 25, 2020, on the day of the Double Ninth Festival, known as the day for seniors. Its owner Song Delong had been in the advertisement industry catering to seniors over the past 15 years, and things he dealt with most were healthcare products for the aged. That was where he found a market niche. He came up with the idea of a toy store for the elderly in 2009, but it took a decade for him to make it come to pass.
"People usually care more about seniors' physical health than their mental condition," said Song during an interview with CGTN, sitting at a table of toys against a glass window as the sun cast a soft glow.
Toys are generally supposed to be for children, not adults, the traditional thinking goes. Plus, most toymakers do not make products for this demographic; instead, they target children who yield higher profit margins.
Song Delong, owner of the store, in Beijing, China, January 19, 2021. Wang Yan/CGTN
促使宋德龙放弃稳定工作去开一家玩具店的决定性因素，是他的父母。
几年前，宋德龙将父母从吉林老家接来北京居住。但就在来京仅仅几天后，两位老人就迫不及待地提出想回家。
宋德龙的父母是大量老年人口的缩影，他们离开家乡到孩子生活的城市帮忙照顾孙辈，让孩子们可以安心上班挣钱。但同时，远离家乡使得这些老人与原本的社交圈隔绝，在家里照看孙辈又占据了他们太多时间，他们的生活变得单调乏味，时常感到孤独。
What further prompted Song to resign from a stable job and start this business was his parents. Days after he brought his parents from a small town in northeast China's Jilin to this metropolis to live with his nuclear family, they were anxious to go back home. "They compared living here with staying in prison," Song jested.
His parents are the epitome of a larger elderly population who left their hometowns to care for their grandchildren in Beijing as their grown-up children have to work to sustain a moderate lifestyle in the expensive city.
Living in the capital far away from home has isolated these seniors from their social circles back home. In addition, staying home most of the day to watch over their grandchildren have made their lives monotonous and, from time to time, lonely.
Zhao Xiuxiang and her husband have been living with her daughter's family in Beijing for two years. "I miss home in Inner Mongolia. I'm happy to see my granddaughter growing up day by day but I feel trapped," she told CGTN while going after an active two-year-old toddler who kept running around.
Since the store opened, she and her granddaughter visit frequently, befriending neighbors who are also in a similar predicament. "Here I can make new friends and have small talks, and this little girl makes her little friends too."
Liu Yuliang, 65, plays hoop and pole at the toy store in Beijing, China, January 19, 2021. Wang Yan/CGTN
许多老年人（其中大部分的年龄在55岁以上）已经在工作和家庭中承担了无数责任，但仍然不能自由享受退休生活。对这些被困在大城市和小家庭之间的老年人而言，这家小店的意义远不止于一个卖玩具的地方，它还可以提供归属感。
"The board games help sharpen my mind, and also make me feel less lonely," said 58-year-old Wang Shuying. When her granddaughter was four months old, she moved from Cangzhou, a city only 260 kilometers away from Beijing, to look after her. Her husband has yet to retire and they've been living separately for two years except a few days' break back home. For these often lonely seniors, the place is more than a store – it gives them a sense of community.
A majority of the elderly people, mostly above 55, have already juggled a myriad of responsibilities at work and at home but still can't freely enjoy their retirement.
Fang Hailiang, a native of Zhoushan, an island city in east China, used to be a carpenter. His eyes light up upon seeing a variety of wooden toys in the store just dozens of meters from his son's house. The 65-year-old plans to go back home after his granddaughter enters kindergarten. "I brought up my grandson for my oldest child in my hometown, and came here to look after the girl of my second child."
Gao Chengfeng, 63, often visits the store with her grandson, Beijing, China, January 22, 2021. Wang Xiaonan/CGTN
宋德龙欣慰于老人们能够在他的店里找到慰藉。
“每个人都需要玩具，”他说，“不管他们多大。”
研究表明，玩游戏可以刺激大脑，有助于避免记忆力衰退和许多其他认知问题。因此，老年痴呆在很大程度上是可以预防的。
但宋德龙认为，要让老年人觉得值得去玩、享受乐趣，还有很长的路要走。而由于人们通常认为这种乐趣是留给孩子们的，所以也很难找到设计师为老年人开发新玩具”
Song is delighted to see seniors find comfort in his store. "Everyone needs toys, regardless of how old they are."
Fang Shuqin, 85, lives alone. She told CGTN that she has frequented the doctor's much less since the store opened. "Retaining a sharp memory and thinking abilities as well as staying in a good mood are essential to longevity."
Research has revealed playing games, such as working out ring puzzles, playing chess and ball games, can stimulate the brain, which helps stave off a fleeting memory and many other cognitive problems. Dementia among many age-related diseases could hence be largely prevented.
But Song thinks there's still a long way to go to make seniors feel it's worth their while to play and have fun. "It's difficult to find a designer to develop new toys for the elderly due to the mentality that such fun is reserved for children."
目前，中国正朝着适度老龄化社会迈进。
国家统计局数据显示，截至2019年底，我国60岁及以上人口已达2.54亿，占总人口的18.1%。据估计，到2025年，中国60岁以上的人口将达到3亿。
“所以帮助老年人保持身心健康很重要，”宋德龙指出，“不久前，广州一家养老院来参观，并买了几件玩具。这是个好迹象。”
China is steering toward a moderately aging society. By the end of 2019, 254 million Chinese were aged 60 or above, accounting for 18.1 percent of the total population, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. And it's estimated that China will have 300 million people aged 60 or above by 2025. "So helping seniors stay healthy both physically and mentally is important," he noted. "Not long ago, a nursing home from the southern city of Guangzhou came to visit and purchased several toys. That's a good sign."