As the international influence of the Shanghai Senior Expo continues to grow, a picture of ‘global resources flowing into Shanghai and the entire city’s strength gathering’ has unfolded. On one hand, AID 2026’s global ‘circle of friends’ continues to expand—the Australian pavilion doubled in size compared to last year, and Canada and the UK also joined with official delegations. On the other hand, this exhibition is the largest display of district-level forces in AID’s history. Districts such as Xuhui, Changning, Putuo, Jing’an, Pudong, Minhang, Qingpu, Chongming, and Jinshan, mainly represented by district-owned enterprises, participated collectively; while Huangpu, Hongkou, Baoshan, Songjiang, Jiading, and other districts also appeared as district-level delegations, showcasing their respective silver economy resource endowments and industrial characteristics.

In terms of brand breadth, this year’s Senior Expo can be described as a ‘All-Star Gala’ for China’s silver economy. Leading brands from more than ten sectors, including elderly care services, home appliances, furniture, assistive devices, food, automobiles, communications, finance, and cultural tourism, all made appearances, jointly depicting a picture of industrial integration. In the field of elderly care services, industry pillars such as Taikang Home, CITIC Elderly Care, Rentang, Guokang, Xinxuhui, and Shuyi Liankang formed a strong lineup. In the home appliances and smart home sector, Haier, China Telecom, and China Unicom exhibited deeply with silver scenarios. In the senior-friendly home and bathroom sector, IKEA, Hushang Mingju, and Shidao presented together. In the rehabilitation assistive devices track, leading brands such as Yuwell, Paramount Bed, and Qisheng were all present. In the silver diet and nutrition health field, giants like Danone, Bright, Licheng, and A2 crossed over. In the financial sector, institutions such as ICBC, CCB, BOC, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, Bank of Shanghai, SPD Bank, and Shanghai Trust gathered. In the tech-enabled mobility track, accessible vehicle companies like SAIC Maxus, Fengshi, Johnson, and Volkswagen, along with hardcore tech forces like Chengntech Kenqi and Xiaoshentong, competed on the same stage, comprehensively reshaping the silver travel ecosystem. In the cultural, entertainment, and tourism sector, brands like Spring Travel, Dongli Club, and Dunhuang Musical Instruments illuminated the spiritual world of seniors. The leading forces from more than ten sectors converged at the same time and space—AID 2026 is not just an exhibition, but a collective answer to the question ‘how to age’ in this era.

In the field of silver-black technology, this year’s Senior Expo witnessed a new trend of hardcore technology accelerating from institutional use to home scenarios. In the robot track, a batch of innovative products were unveiled, including bipedal humanoid robots, bionic panda quadruped robots, guide robot dogs, intelligent walking-assist robots, smart mobility scooters, AI multimodal health service robots, and AI smart elderly companionship robots, answering the era’s question ‘who will accompany and care for us?’ On the other hand, the continuous progress of exoskeleton technology has allowed more people to regain autonomy over their bodies. Suixing knee-assist exoskeletons and lightweight exoskeleton robots are entering the stairs and corridors of ordinary homes. From intelligent companionship to precise mobility assistance, from daily care to rehabilitation empowerment, a technology ‘combined fleet’ covering multiple scenarios has taken shape. When technology is no longer an unattainable imagination but a warm reliance within the reach of seniors, the silver economy is not just an industrial track but a mirror reflecting social progress and humanistic warmth.

As a new highlight of this year’s Senior Expo, financial forces made a high-profile appearance in a cluster. With the support of the Shanghai Head Office of the People’s Bank of China, the first-ever pension finance zone in the history of the Senior Expo was created in Hall W2. ICBC, CCB, BOC, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, Bank of Shanghai, SPD Bank, and Shanghai Trust gathered together, with banks, trusts, and insurance companies jointly appearing, providing one-stop integrated services such as savings and wealth management, risk protection, and designated guardianship plus pension service trusts. The joint exhibition of designated guardianship and financial products moved ‘my old age, my decision’ toward actionable contracts. The establishment of this zone marks a shift of Shanghai’s ‘finance + pension’ services from fragmentation to systematization, from product-driven to demand-driven, laying a solid financial foundation for the start of the ’15th Five-Year Plan’.

On the afternoon of June 4, as the most anticipated intellectual feast of this year’s Senior Expo, the ‘2026 AID Silver Industry Innovation and Development Conference’ was successfully held in the Pudong Hall of the Pudong Kerry Hotel. The conference, with the theme ‘Explore, Innovate, Lead: New Momentum and Urban Practice for the Silver Economy,’ invited heavyweight guests such as humanistic financial observer Qin Shuo, Zhang Lufa (Vice Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs at Shanghai Jiao Tong University), and Wu Ruijun (Counselor of Shanghai Municipal Government), along with representatives from the People’s Bank of China, SPD Bank, Ant Group, Fourier, Danone, and CITIC Elderly Care. They progressively discussed dimensions such as new consumption, financial innovation, technology scenarios, standard systems, entity operations, and scientific nutrition, jointly sketching a complete picture of the integrated development of ‘government, industry, academia, research, and application’ in the silver economy. Additionally, upholding the philosophy of ‘industry height and professional perspective,’ the Senior Expo concurrently held the ‘Big City Elderly Care’ Innovation and Development Conference. Focusing on six major themes—pension finance, dementia care, community-based home care, dietary nutrition, designated guardianship, and smart elderly care—over 40 industry experts and corporate representatives engaged in three days of industry exchanges, presenting an annual event that combined intellectual depth and practical insight for the industry.

Guided by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and hosted by the Shanghai Cultural and Tourism Industry Development Promotion Center, the ‘Shanghai Silver Tourism Resource Allocation and Matchmaking Event’ aimed at ‘precise matching and two-way empowerment’ fully leveraged the Expo’s industry influence and audience base to build an efficient matching platform between silver tourism product supply and channel demand, helping Shanghai become a high-quality silver tourism destination. The event brought together cultural tourism enterprises, financial institutions, silver communities, and other forces to further promote the deep integration of culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions, forming a new silver consumption ecosystem with resource sharing, ticket linkage, and scenario co-creation.

In addition, the successful holding of events such as ‘AID Talk Industry Salon,’ ‘AI Emergence, Silver Renewal – Elderly Care Minority Report Season 3,’ ‘Silver Economy Entrepreneurship Salon,’ and ‘2026 First Silver Gold Street Business Innovation Conference’ further enriched the topics and content of the exhibition, presenting a splendid ‘intellectual feast’ for the audience.

The ‘Rehabilitation Assistive Devices Innovation Exhibition Area’ deeply presented the ‘Lewuyou Cabin’ brand created by the Civil Affairs Bureau, showcasing the latest achievements in the city’s rehabilitation assistive devices field and promoting deep integration of products with diverse life scenarios. This expo featured four innovative integration experience zones: ‘Tourism & Social +,’ ‘Cognitive Rehabilitation +,’ ‘Home/Institution +,’ and ‘Exoskeleton Competitive Testing Zone.’ Citizens could feel the warmth of technology through interaction and understand how assistive devices rekindle hope in life through experience.

The ‘Party and Mass Service Station’ further expanded its functions and innovated its service content based on the 2025 edition, continuously focusing on the needs of the masses, providing more thoughtful and comprehensive services to visitors. Policy consultation, legal aid, health free clinics, and convenient rest areas—one-stop services made visitors feel that ‘the organization is by their side.’ The deep integration of party building and people’s livelihood made the tenet of ‘serving the people’ tangible. In addition, during the exhibition, the Party Committee of the Shanghai International Trade Promotion Committee continued to organize young party members to go to the front line, carrying out volunteer services in the ‘Wheelchair Driving School’ activity area, providing services such as wheelchair usage explanations, experience assistance, and temporary rest guidance, jointly consolidating the exhibition service guarantee.

The ‘Elderly Meal Benefit Exhibition Area’ took the ’15-minute meal assistance service circle’ as its main line, condensing Shanghai’s practical achievements in elderly meal assistance services into a visual, taste-able, and tangible live show. The exhibition area constructed a dual-scene layout of ‘senior canteen space + urban meal assistance block,’ with five interlocking sections: ‘One Map Overview,’ ‘One Touch Access,’ ‘One Meal with Method,’ ‘A Corner of Life,’ and ‘One Test for Peace of Mind,’ collectively presenting the comprehensive achievements of Shanghai’s elderly meal assistance services in recent years in terms of network layout, digital empowerment, quality upgrade, and humanistic care.

The Shanghai Welfare Lottery Zone, with the theme ‘Fuma Presents Auspiciousness, Luck with Color,’ integrated public welfare, entertainment, and interaction. Sales consultation, a public welfare wall, check-in points, and a game area—citizens learned about the stories behind lottery tickets in a relaxed atmosphere. The on-site experience made public welfare tangible, with each lottery ticket pooling love, standing alongside the Party and Mass Service Station to jointly write a warm chapter of the ‘People’s City.’

The newly incubated ‘Senior Street · Old Friends Road’ cultural and entertainment themed block accurately captured the four major spiritual and cultural needs of seniors: learning, performing, gathering, and beauty. It connected emotional resonance across all ages through low-threshold, high-participation cultural benefit activities. Deeply rooted in national heritage and Shanghai charm, the block collaborated with cross-border musical instrument brands such as Pearl River Piano, Xinghai, Dunhuang, Enya, Yinuo, and Medeli, integrating music, socializing, experience, and consumption to create a warm and stylish silver life show field, making the concept of ‘providing for the elderly’ truly leap to ‘enjoying life in old age.’