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Chinese retirees are turning hard-won time into journeys once confined to maps and documentaries_我的网站

一 |     Editor's Note:
With China's population of seniors over 60 surpassing 300 million, ensuring a happy and fulfilling life for all seniors has become a pressing issue for both families and the nation. How can the new generation of seniors in China break away from traditional norms and embrace a different lifestyle, supported by AI technology, multiculturalism and an elder-friendly society? 
The series "Old Age, New Trends" explores emerging trends in the silver economy, creative social norms among senior citizens and innovative eldercare services. It examines the opportunities and challenges presented by an aging society, highlighting the diverse lifestyles of seniors and the booming eldercare industry in China. Beneath these new trends lies a reflection of Chinese modernization, which aims to provide more secure systems and dignified lives for its senior population.

    Chinese elderly tourists pose for a photo during a trip to Antarctica. Photo: Courtesy of Zhang XinyuanThe camera moves across ice and water of Greenland before settling on a group of travelers speaking Putonghua. Many are retired. They have come a long way from China to a place that, for much of their working lives, belonged more to maps and documentaries than to any realistic travel plan.
Polar journeys require money, good health and patience for long flights and itineraries that may change with the weather. Yet on ships bound for Antarctica, and tours reaching into the Arctic, retired teachers, doctors, researchers and business managers are becoming easier to find. 
After decades scheduled around work and family, they now possess something that was once just as scarce as money: uninterrupted time.
By the end of 2025, China had 323.38 million people aged 60 or above, accounting for 23 percent of its population, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Their incomes, health and family circumstances vary enormously, and polar travelers remain a small, relatively affluent group. Still, their choices bring one change into sharp focus: For some among this new generation of retirees, growing older no longer means simply drawing the boundaries of life inward. It may also be a chance to return to journeys postponed for decades.
Behind every such journey lies a practical calculation: Is the body ready? Is the expense manageable? Can family responsibilities be set aside long enough? The answers are reshaping both travel products and ideas about life after work. At the farthest reaches of the map, some Chinese retirees are asking a new question: With their careers behind them and years still ahead, where do they want to go next?
No longer waiting
In early 2025, 63-year-old He Man stood on a snow-covered slope at Port Charcot in Antarctica and looked back toward the sea. 
The Silver Endeavour, the ship that had brought her there, had shrunk to a white speck against the blue water. Penguins wandered nearby. "Standing there, I suddenly realized how small I was - and how small my problems were," she told the Global Times.
It was a journey He Man had postponed for most of her adult life. Before retiring, she was a deputy chief physician at the dental center of Shenzhen People's Hospital in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province. During her 38-year medical career, most days she got up at 6 am, arrived at the hospital around 7 and began seeing patients at 8. On busy days, patients queued up outside her consulting room and she could barely stop for a drink of water.
During the last 20 years of her career, she had no more than 15 days of annual leave each year. Once time was set aside for caring for elderly relatives and looking after her child, what remained was enough only for short trips. She had visited several countries in Europe and North America, but Antarctica remained beyond reach.
"Antarctica had always been a dream, but I never really dared to imagine going," she said. The possibility became real only after friends from university made the journey in 2023 and 2024 and encouraged her to follow. By then, she had retired at 60. More important than anything else, she said, was that her time was finally her own.
In October 2024, she booked a place on an expedition ship carrying about 200 passengers. She went with her husband, a neighboring couple and another couple with whom they often traveled, forming a group of six. 
The early-booking cruise fare exceeded 150,000 yuan ($22,250) per person. She and her husband later paid another 40,000 yuan each to upgrade their flights to business class.
"On a journey this long, at our age, we should treat ourselves well," she said. The flights between China and South America alone took more than 30 hours. The entire journey eventually lasted 41 days, combining an 11-day Antarctic cruise with visits to Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Chile. "Since we had flown so far, we wanted to see it all in one go."
The journey began with a lesson in polar uncertainty. To catch a period of calmer weather across the Drake Passage, the ship moved its scheduled departure from noon to 6 am. 
The couple reached the port in Chile before dawn after barely sleeping, only to learn that replenishment and repairs had taken longer than expected. The weather window closed, and the captain diverted through the Beagle Channel while waiting two days for conditions to improve.
The retired doctor did not regard the delay as time lost. Marine biologists, ornithologists, geologists and polar historians delivered lectures on board throughout the day, while passengers watched the fjords outside. "There were many older people on the ship. We had time, and nobody was really in a hurry," she said.
When she finally stepped onto the Antarctic snow, she said she was so overwhelmed that she wanted to cry. The trip did not remove the pressures waiting for her at home, but it changed the scale on which she viewed them. 
"When I feel stressed or upset now, I think of Antarctica," she said. "Life is only so long. Don't hold yourself too tightly. Let go when you should."
    Scenery of Antarctica Photo: Courtesy of Zhang XinyuanBeyond one journey
According to He Man, people aged 60 or above accounted for more than half of the passengers on board, while Chinese travelers also made up more than half. After returning home, some of the travelers from Shenzhen created a WeChat group, while others had already begun discussing their next destination.
Travel agencies specializing in expedition cruises have noticed the same pattern. Zhang Xinyuan, founder and CEO of Newayer Cruises, told the Global Times that the company entered the Antarctic market in 2008 and sent its first group the following year. It has since served approximately 6,000 travelers on trips to the Arctic and Antarctica. 
Among its customers, more than 65 percent are aged over 50, with those between 55 and 65 forming the largest group.
The makeup of that group has changed. Before 2020, Zhang said, most of the agency's polar customers were private business owners, senior executives and their family members. In recent years, the professional backgrounds of its customers have become more varied, with retired teachers, doctors, researchers and managers from public institutions increasingly represented. Retired women traveling alone have also become more visible.
Their journeys do not necessarily end after one polar voyage. Zhang once regarded Antarctica as a once-in-a-lifetime destination, but found that some customers continued on to the Arctic, the Galapagos Islands or wildlife reserves in Africa. 
She cited a recently retired couple who booked trips to both Antarctica and the Arctic. While still aboard the Arctic cruise, they asked to reserve places on a southern Africa itinerary planned for the following year.
Industry data suggest that this is a growing, though still expensive, segment of the travel market. During the 2024-25 Antarctic season, Chinese nationals accounted for 10 percent of passengers traveling with operators belonging to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, or IAATO, the second-largest share after the US. 
In the 2025-26 season, IAATO operators recorded 85,195 visitors who landed in Antarctica and another 27,217 cruise-only passengers. The association said China had seen the greatest post-pandemic increase among the main sources of Antarctic travelers. 
Data released by Tongcheng Travel offer a closer view of the high-end market. From January to September 2025, travelers aged between 50 and 70 accounted for more than 70 percent of users booking outbound luxury cruises on the platform. Among customers purchasing polar cruise products priced above 100,000 yuan, more than 90 percent were classified by the company as silver travelers.
As the customer base changes, the product is changing with it. Zhang said the longest flights, rather than the cruise itself, often present the greatest physical challenge. On board, travelers can decide whether to join shore landings, hikes or Zodiac cruises according to their physical fitness and health condition. 
At Newayer Cruises, travelers aged between 75 and 80 are generally asked to provide medical documentation and travel with a family member. Its group products include emergency medical and evacuation insurance, while tour leaders accompany passengers from departure.
The agency has also added Chinese-language services and meals familiar to Chinese passengers, while leaving more space in itineraries rather than packing each day with activities. Flexibility is needed for reasons beyond the traveler's own health. 
    A ship sails among icebergs in Antarctica. Photo: VCGThe Arctic can wait
Polar travel occupies the expensive outer edge of a much broader change in how older Chinese people spend their time. By the end of 2025, China had 323.38 million people aged 60 or above, accounting for 23 percent of the population. Those aged 65 or above numbered 223.65 million, or 15.9 percent. 
The National Bureau of Statistics noted that people aged between 60 and 64 made up a relatively large part of the older population, and that many were still healthy and participated in social activities. 
Travel is becoming one outlet for this age group. Data cited by the National Development and Reform Commission show that older travelers account for more than 20 percent of China's total tourist numbers. 
Du Peng, dean of the School of Population and Health and director of the Institute of Gerontology at Renmin University of China, noted in a CCTV interview that more than 20 million people would enter old age each year over the following decade. Compared with earlier generations, he said, many would be better educated, assess their own health more positively and use the internet with greater ease. 
Policy is beginning to respond to this more varied picture of old age. A State Council document on developing the silver economy calls for replacing rigid age restrictions on travel with assessments based more closely on health, while expanding travel insurance and strengthening consumer protection. 
Still, the retirees boarding polar ships should not be treated as a portrait of all 323 million older Chinese people. They are a relatively small group able to meet three demanding conditions at once: sufficient savings, good health and control over their time.
Therefore, what these polar travelers demonstrate is not that every retirement should become an expensive adventure. Rather, they show that later life is becoming less uniform: rest and care remain essential, but for some people, retirement may also contain study, creative work, new friendships and journeys once postponed by jobs and family obligations.
Back in Shenzhen, He Man now divides her Xiaohongshu (RedNote) posts between dental-health advice and notes from her travels. Antarctica has been crossed off the list, but the list itself continues to grow. 
She is considering a trip to see the animal migration in Africa and another to watch the aurora in Iceland. The Arctic is lower down on her list.
The Arctic can wait. This time, the delay is hers to decide.

。    当仓储量贩超市的即时零售业务迅猛发展，骑手面临的困境不是超速，而是超载。                   近期，山姆又有4个前置仓“云仓”在全国多地集中开业，与云仓配套的“一小时极速达”配送服务同步落地。                   根据时代财经统计，这4个云仓分别位于广州花都、温州乐清、镇江京口和成都新都，而在近一个月内，山姆全国至少新增了7个云仓，这让沃尔玛中国“云仓+极速达”模式的即时零售网络规模进一步逼近500个仓库。

二 |                    然而，随着云仓数量的增加，山姆也陷入了新的争议。

三 | 近日，全国多地网友爆料，山姆配送员驾驶的电动车前后挂满大件货物，超载现象突出，这一情况不仅引起外界对山姆配送方式合理性的质疑，还对驾驶员的安全风险产生了广泛担忧。                   由于平台按照单量计算工资，意味着骑手配送的订单越多，收入就越高，“我们出去一趟不容易，想要多赚钱，一趟就得多拿几单”，已离职的山姆“极速达”骑手李明说道。此前，他做了将近两年的全职骑手。                   “而且山姆的单不少是大米、水、牛奶、狗粮之类的，（有时候）一单直接就五六十斤了”，各种原因的推动下，货物常被“叠罗汉”似的挂满电动车，“极速达”骑手只能超载上路。                   当美团、饿了么等平台开始优化算法和奖惩机制，外卖骑手有望摆脱超速困境时，在中国疾速发展的山姆，或许也是时候审视骑手超载问题了。                   一、“想要多赚钱，一趟就得多拿几单”                    图源：利利安                    时代财经了解到，“极速达”依托的是山姆云仓建立的即时配送网络，其配送范围通常覆盖门店或云仓周边3～5公里，部分地区可延伸至5公里以上。                   “极速达”骑手主要采用两轮的电动自动车进行送货，他们的工作模式与常见的外卖骑手相似，最大的区别在于“极速达”骑手服务的商家只有山姆。

四 | 值得注意的是，“极速达”并非山姆自营，而是承包给了第三方即时配送平台，包括达达秒送、顺丰同城等。                   李明曾在一个中部省会城市做了两年山姆“极速达”骑手，该配送服务由达达秒送提供，但达达秒送又将配送服务分包给了第三方，因此李明实际上是分包商的员工。                   对于“极速达”骑手超载的原因，李明了然于心，因为他也曾是超载的一员。                   山姆商品多为家庭囤货装，客单价远高于普通商超，这使得其订单天然带有数量多、体积大、重量沉的特点，而“极速达”满99元免15公斤首重运费的规则，进一步促使会员为节省配送费，选择合并订单或多买凑单，加剧了订单的重量问题。                   沃尔玛中国曾在2020年12月发布的文章中指出，山姆“极速达”客单价是行业三至四倍。                   时代财经了解到，“极速达”骑手单次配送的货物总重量有明确限制，最重不得超过30公斤，“系统默认超过30公斤就不会再进单”，但李明透露，在实际操作过程中，总重量有办法突破系统的限制。                   一般而言，“极速达”骑手的工资按照单量计算，不同的分包商提供的价格不尽相同。李明所在的公司提供的价格为3公里以内5元/单，每超过1公里增加1元，但未提供重量补贴，“无论是送1斤货还是30斤货，价格都是一样的”。                   即便部分分包商承诺提供距离补贴和重量补贴，实际力度也杯水车薪。一家位于广州增城的分包商实行阶梯制单价，送单量越多，单价就越高，每月配送1至500单的单价为6元，超过3公里的部分补贴0.6元/公里，单重超过10公斤时，超重部分每5公斤补贴1元。

五 | 然而，与补贴相比，骑手发现接更多单才能获得更高收入。

六 | 这也导致部分骑手“大包小包”超载上路。                   随着山姆即时零售业务规模的扩大，越来越多身着紫色配送服的“极速达”骑手穿梭在大街小巷。然而，骑手似乎并未直接从单量增加中受益，这在一定程度上加剧了超载困境。                   李明向时代财经回忆，刚入职时，“极速达”的老骑手每月通常能跑1200多单，月收入在9700至9800元；由于个人经济压力，李明入职初期努力跑单，每月能跑约1400单，月收入超1.2万元，其中距离补贴约为3000元，算下来平均单价将近8.57元。                   随着业务熟练，李明愈发勤奋，离职前最后一个月，他足足跑了2032单，但月收入仅1.3万元，平均单价骤降至6.4元。“这是我全月无休、每天工作16个小时熬出来的，结果拿到的钱跟以前跑1400单时差不多。

七 | ” 李明坦言，单价大幅降低，是他最终决定离职的主要原因之一。                   二、山姆靠前置仓加速扩张                    极速达，是山姆依托线上业务在华推进规模化扩张，实现“快跑”发展的重要抓手。                   为满足会员家庭的即时需求，山姆自2017年底起开始构建“云仓”体系，并联合京东旗下达达集团的“达达快送”（现名为“达达秒送”），通过“驻店+众包”的混合运力模式推出“极速达”服务。                   山姆的云仓仅服务于线上订单，最初只在部分门店周边开设，云仓配备了冷冻库、冷藏库和常温货架区，主要服务门店3～5公里内的会员和潜在会员。

八 | 山姆从线下门店精选了1000多种复购率较高的商品进入云仓，涵盖了几乎所有生鲜品类，以及母婴、个护、干货等日常商品和进口水果、酒水饮料、海参等高端商品。

九 |                    山姆门店 时代财经摄                    根据界面新闻，最早于2017年12月，山姆在深圳部分区域推出“极速达”服务，测试了前置仓“云仓”的效果。经过短时间的试点后，山姆云仓在2018年宣布规模化，开始大力发展生鲜到家业务，将“门店+云仓”模式逐渐推广至全国。                   根据沃尔玛中国，在这一年，山姆在全国布局了38个云仓，最快一单仅用了11分钟就送到顾客手中。                   尝到甜头的山姆，将更多的扩张任务寄望在了云仓，它成为山姆进军新城市前，提前探测当地市场需求的“试金石”。2020年9月，山姆宣布即将开业的新店将全部采用“先仓后店”的模式，即在实体门店开业之前就先开设云仓。                   根据沃尔玛中国，2020年6月开业的中国第27家山姆门店——浙江宁波店便采用了“先仓后店”模式，在开业前，该店已完成近四万单“一小时极速达”订单，近些年，践行“先仓后店”模式的城市还包括江苏昆山、四川成都、浙江杭州和重庆等地。                   2020年12月，山姆云仓数量达到近百家，“极速达”服务实现覆盖所有门店所在城市，单仓日均订单量比上线初期增长超10倍，同年7月，“极速达”订单量占山姆电商订单量近70%。                   此后，随着山姆门店的扩张，云仓也保持了强劲的增长势头。2026财年第二季度（2025年5月1日至7月31日），沃尔玛中国共增设了33个云仓，使得云仓总数达到了455个。同时期，山姆在全国共有56家已开业门店。                   到了第三季度，山姆的已开业门店增至58个，云仓数量也进一步增加。仅最近一个月内，山姆在全国多个城市集中开设云仓，涵盖了广州南沙、广州花都、温州乐清、镇江京口、扬州江都、南通如东和成都新都等地，其中4个云仓在过去一周内开业。                   山姆之所以在即时零售网络上投入大量精力，核心原因在于其线上业务已与实体门店平分秋色。沃尔玛管理层也在多个场合，对云仓与“极速达”服务不吝赞美。                   在第二季度财报电话会议上，沃尔玛高管表示，中国线上业务有着强劲的表现，中国市场的净销售额超过50%由线上驱动，而云仓的布局使得沃尔玛中国能够在一小时之内将商品送到顾客手中。                   面对投资者的询问时，沃尔玛方面进一步指出，“沃尔玛从中国市场学到了诸多经验，这些经验正被广泛应用于全球市场，其中包括云仓模式和极速达”，极速达对业务的影响显著，目前云仓模式已在美国和印度落地。                   2026财年上半年（2025年2月1日至7月31日），沃尔玛中国实现净销售额123.65亿美元，同比增长24.82亿美元。其中，第二季度（2025年5月1日至7月31日），沃尔玛中国实现净销售额57.86亿美元，同比增长13.46亿美元，同比增长率为30.8%，而第二季度线上销售额增长率达39%。                   当山姆在中国狂飙之时，随之而来的课题也愈加明显——如何在规模扩张、运力提升与人文关怀之间找到平衡，避免骑手在摆脱超速困境的同时，陷入超载的难题。                   本文来自微信公众号：19号商研社，作者：陈泽旋，编辑：黎倩。

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