At noon on Wednesday, some elderly people gathered in a canteen for lunch at Nanliuzhuang village of Zhongzhuang town in Yiyuan county of Zibo, Shandong province.

In the county's other village--Jijiayu village of Lucun town -- there is also such a canteen where more than 100 elderly people have lunch every day.

"We come here earlier than the lunch time to have small talks together," said Yan Xisheng, a Jijiayu villager who is in his 80s.

Elderly people have lunch in a canteen at Nanliuzhuang village of Zhongzhuang town in Yiyuan county of Zibo, Shandong province on Wednesday. [Photo by Zhang Kuifa/for chinadaily.com.cn]

The senior canteens are part of the functions of the livelihood complexes built in Yiyuan county.

Yiyuan has built 353 livelihood complexes across the county to provide elderly care services including dining, bathing, medical care, entertainment and shopping. These livelihood complexes cover a population of 85,000 elderly residents in the villages of the county.

Local governments and the collective cooperatives in the villages subsidize the meal fees. With the subsidies, people aged between 60 and 79 pay two yuan （$0.28） for each lunch on their own, and for those older than 80, one yuan for each lunch, according to the county government.