Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times' foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe.

They talk about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.

In this episode, she chats with ST's China correspondent Aw Cheng Wei. 

The idea of senior citizens looking for romance is no longer a stigma as older Chinese people become more affluent and seek out the better things in life. And Changpuhe Park is where they often find it.

Highlights (click/tap above):

0:59 Covid-19 put a stop to a twice-weekly ritual in a public park next to the famous Tiananmen Square

3:07 The quiet but picturesque setting for the seniors romance 

4:57 The idea of a complete family unit shapes expectations

6:59 Are the children ok with parents looking for romance?

9:30 Some entrepreneurial mainlanders are making money off loneliness

11:10 Is this a story where they live happily after?

Read Aw Cheng Wei’s article here: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/lonely-elderly-park-their-reservations-and-look-for-love

Produced by: Bhagyashree Garekar ([email protected]), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani

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