NEW YORK - REES Star Continuing Care Group, an architectural, planning, and interior design firm based in Atlanta that specializes in healthcare and senior living centers, signed an agreement Wednesday with Chinese healthcare company Ciming Checkup to build high-end senior living communities in major cities in China.

The first phase of projects in Beijing and Dalian amounts to a $200 million investment. The two senior living communities will begin operations by 2015, said Hu Bo, general manager of Ciming Checkup.

"Ciming will provide physical checkups and health preservation services in these communities," he said.

According to the national census in 2010, the elderly population (people older than 60) in China is at 178 million, 13 percent of the total population of 1.3 billion. Sociologists predict that the number may climb to above 20 percent by 2050.

Unlike most Chinese communities designated for the elderly, REES properties employ US design concepts and standards, including in-house movie theaters, swimming pools, an emergency call system in each room and regular events.

The senior healthcare center in each city will cover approximately 33 hectares to accommodate about 2,000 families.

But the costs for living in one of REES' centers will be costly. In local Chinese nursing homes, monthly fees are on average below 3,000 yuan ($476), but tenants in a REES center will need to pay nearly $1,600 every month.

A senior living center with similar facilities would cost $8,000 a month in the US, Hu said.

Gu Jiaji, vice-president of REES, said the booming Chinese market for senior living centers is a call to do business in China.

"There is huge demand in this section in China, especially among those middle-class families that are successful and wealthy, yet too busy to take care of their aging parents. Currently, there are very few high-level senior living communities available in China, so we are ready to fill in the gap," Gu said.

Ciming Checkup is an established healthcare company that provides services including physical checkups, medication and health consultations, Gu said, making it a good partner to work with in China.

Ciming spokespeople said that working with REES could be a springboard for future projects in the US.

"We might work together on an Asian village project in Atlanta to showcase the senior living projects from China. ... At the same time, we can promote traditional Chinese medicine and health preservation concepts to US customers," Hu said.

REES is currently targeting wealthy middle-class Chinese families, though Gu said they may adjust its market strategy in the future.

"These communities can also be destinations for overseas Chinese, or even foreigners to spend their late years, because the labor in China is cheaper, and the cost is more efficient," Gu said.

China Daily