老龄化中国，有人把"陪伴"做成生意｜原文

Soren双语精读笔记 2026-10-16 08:30 江苏

Paid companionship grows as loneliness rises in China

随着中国人愈加孤独，付费陪伴市场增长

"The biggest difficulty really was the loneliness. Sometimes, if I wanted to talk to someone I'd talk to the TV."

"最大的困难其实就是孤独。有时候我想找人说说话，就对着电视说。"

Yang, 91, lives on the outskirts of China's bustling capital Beijing. Following the death of her husband, she was so lonely that she says she even considered the possibility of voluntary euthanasia.

91 岁的杨奶奶住在繁华首都北京的郊区。丈夫去世后，她孤独到说自己甚至考虑过自愿安乐死的可能。

"I asked my son about it but he told me it was banned. I told him that if it ever becomes legal I want to do it - I didn't want to live any longer."

"我问过儿子这件事，他告诉我这是被禁止的。我跟他说，如果哪天合法了，我想做，我不想再活下去了。"

Suffering glaucoma, with failing eyesight, she was unable to even do basic things like adjust the controls on her air conditioner.

她患有青光眼，视力衰退，连调节空调控制面板这类最基本的事情都做不了。

Cases such as Yang's have become increasingly common in Chinese cities which Associate Professor Teresa Kuan, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, says is "exacerbated by the structure of society and the modes by which people interact".

像杨奶奶这样的情况在中国城市里越来越普遍。香港中文大学副教授关宜馨（Teresa Kuan）认为，这"被社会结构和人们的交往方式进一步加剧"。

There are many causes of isolation in China. Most of it happens when rural migrants pursue economic opportunities, leaving behind close-knit support networks for urban centres where loneliness and uncertainty can be difficult to overcome, or when graduates uproot themselves chasing employment on the other side of the country.

中国产生孤立感的原因很多。多数情况发生在两种时候：一是农村外出务工者为了经济机会离开紧密的熟人网络、进入城市中心，在那里孤独与不确定感很难克服；二是毕业生为了就业拔根而去，跑到国家的另一端。

But now a growing "loneliness industry" has emerged to try to fill these gaps in people's lives.

但如今，一个不断壮大的"孤独产业"出现了，试图填补人们生活里的这些空白。

Yang says her life has been transformed by one of these services - Wang Yingwei and his electric scooter delivery team - who started coming over twice a day with hot meals but whose help extends far beyond that.

杨奶奶说，其中一项服务改变了她的生活——王英伟和他的电动车配送小队每天两次送来热饭，但他们的帮助远不止于此。

"We see ourselves as community children," Yingwei told the BBC. "It means putting yourself in the shoes of older people and carefully considering their needs.

"我们把自己看作社区里的孩子，"英伟告诉 BBC。"这意味着要设身处地为老人着想，仔细考虑他们的需要。

"For example, they may be drinking tap water which can be cloudy and contain a lot of lime. I can fix this problem with a filtered water tank. Such a small thing can make them much happier. Maybe they can't shower because their equipment is broken. I'll buy a part, replace it and their shower is fine."

"比如，他们可能一直喝自来水，水发浑、水垢很多。我装一个过滤水箱就能解决。这么一件小事，就能让他们开心得多。也许他们的热水器坏了没法洗澡，我买个零件换上，洗澡就没问题了。"

"The elderly treat us like their children, and we treat them like our own parents," he added.

"老人把我们当孩子，我们也把他们当自己的父母，"他补充说。

Yingwei's services cost less than half the price of employing a caregiver.

英伟的服务价格不到雇佣护工的一半。

The former mobile phone salesman says he started his company to help seniors remain at home without having to move into retirement facilities. He was inspired to do this after his own father-in-law, who had developed Alzheimer's, had to go into a nursing home. Yingwei said he felt that the conditions there were so sub-standard he wanted to make sure others could stay out of institutions like this for as long as possible.

这位前手机销售员说，他创办公司是想帮老人留在自己家里，不必搬进养老机构。促使他这么做的，是他的岳父患阿尔茨海默病后不得不住进养老院——他说那里的条件差到让他想让更多老人尽可能久地不进入这类机构。

His small business currently employs four people but he says there is a possibility he will expand as demand grows.

他的小公司目前雇了四个人，但他说随着需求增长，有可能会扩大规模。

There is still a shortage of solid data on the size of this sector – which operators say has exploded in recent years – but securities company Sinolink valued it at around $7.4 billion in 2025. And this is only expected to grow given the trajectory of modern lifestyles.

这个行业规模究竟多大，仍缺乏扎实的数据——从业者称近年出现爆发式增长。不过券商国金证券（Sinolink）测算，2025 年其规模约为 74 亿美元。按照现代生活方式的走势，这一数字预计还会继续增长。

Zheng Ruizhi, another client of Yingwei's who lives in Beijing's northern outskirts, welcomed him at the door with a big smile.

英伟的另一位客户郑瑞芝住在北京北郊，她在门口笑容满面地迎接他。

"After retiring, I don't have much opportunity to hang out with others," the 75-year-old, whose son lives two hours away from her, told the BBC.

"退休之后，我没什么机会和别人来往，"这位 75 岁的老人告诉 BBC。她的儿子住在离她两小时车程的地方。

She was recovering from a recent injury which she said was making everyday tasks more difficult.

她刚从一次受伤中恢复，她说这让日常的事都变得更难。

But the arrival of Yingwei – who she calls her "dear boy" – lightened her mood.

但英伟的到来——她称他为"亲爱的孩子"——让她的心情轻松起来。

"I call you 'dear boy' because I am so fond of you. I genuinely like you from the bottom of my heart. I also admire and trust you. When you help me out, I don't have a single worry or fear," she told him.

"我叫你'亲爱的孩子'，因为我太喜欢你了。我是真心喜欢你。我也敬佩你、信任你。你帮我忙的时候，我一点担心和害怕都没有，"她对他这样说。

Yet the services offered by those in this sector are not limited to home visits.

不过，这个行业提供的服务并不限于上门探访。

Twenty-three-year-old Liu Yanyan, for instance, works as a "medical escort". She acts as a friendly face taking clients to see the doctor, or picking up their test results or medication from city hospitals, which can be intimidatingly large and bureaucratic.

比如 23 岁的刘妍妍，做的是"陪诊"。她充当一张友善的面孔，陪客户看医生，或代他们去城市医院取检查结果、拿药——这些医院之大、流程之繁，足以让人望而生畏。

"Some of my customers are people in their 20s who came to Beijing to build a career. They might not have friends here or feel awkward asking colleagues to accompany them because of the concept of social reciprocity in Chinese culture," she said. "If I accompanied you to a doctor's appointment for free, you might feel obligated to buy me a meal or a movie ticket afterwards."

"我有一些客户是二十多岁、来北京打拼的人。他们在这里可能没有朋友，也可能因为中国文化里的'人情往来'观念，觉得请同事陪同很尴尬，"她说。"如果我免费陪你看病，你之后可能会觉得必须请我吃饭或者看电影。"

She said that, because of this, there are many people in modern Chinese society who tend to keep to themselves.

她说，正因如此，现代中国社会有很多人倾向于不麻烦别人、独来独往。

"So, they hire someone like me to accompany them to the hospital. If they had to go alone, they could feel scared or anxious."

"所以他们雇我这样的人陪他们去医院。如果一个人去，他们可能会感到害怕或焦虑。"

At the core of many businesses catering to loneliness in China is a simple offering: human connection.

在中国，很多针对孤独的生意，核心卖的东西很简单：人与人的连接。

Teresa Kuan said that some people prefer the option of pouring their hearts out to a complete stranger for a fee.

关宜馨说，有些人更愿意花钱向完全的陌生人倾诉心声。

"If there is a companion you have paid for, the relationship is not exactly equal. It is a service relationship, so you don't have to deal with the unpredictability of a standard relationship. The thing about friendship is that it can be unpredictable. You don't know when someone might disappoint you. But, in a service relationship, you have a better idea of what to expect."

"如果是你付钱请来的陪伴，这种关系并不完全对等。它是服务关系，所以你不必面对普通关系里的不可预测性。友情的特点就是难以预料，你不知道什么时候会有人让你失望。但在服务关系里，你对能期待什么更心里有数。"

Wang Zhoutao runs a hiking business to help people who want to climb China's famous mountain Huangshan in Anhui Province.

王周涛经营着一项徒步业务，服务对象是想攀登安徽著名黄山的人。

"We provide emotional support, like cheering them up, taking their photo or telling jokes. It's really a service based on companionship," he said.

"我们提供情绪支持，比如给他们打气、帮他们拍照、讲笑话。本质上是一项以陪伴为基础的服务，"他说。

The former soldier added that he normally hikes up the mountain with clients 10 to 15 days a month. When fully booked, this could be as many as 30 times a month.

这位退伍军人补充说，他通常每月有 10 到 15 天陪客户上山；排满的时候，一个月能爬 30 次。

He gave an example of a young woman he once accompanied who felt ostracised at work. "She felt useless and wanted to prove something to herself," he said.

他举了一个例子：他曾经陪过一位在工作中被排挤的年轻女性。"她觉得自己没用，想向自己证明点什么，"他说。

"We started climbing but it was a tough trek as the weather was really hot and we were sweating a lot. There were moments she wanted to give up but I told her, 'If you quit now and can't get over this mountain how will you handle anything else in life?'. I kept encouraging her."

"我们开始往上爬，但路很难走，天气特别热，我们出了很多汗。有几次她想放弃，我跟她说：'如果你现在退出，连这座山都翻不过去，那生活里别的事你怎么应付？'我一直在鼓励她。"

After they made it all the way he said she sent him a long message of thanks describing her inner journey and expressing her gratitude.

他说，等两人一路登顶之后，她给他发来一条很长的感谢信息，讲述了自己内心的历程并表达谢意。

"The pace of life is just too fast these days. People face pressure from work, relationships and family expectations," he said. "I think my clients are mostly people who feel a void in their relationships or have suffered a setback."

"现在生活节奏太快了。人们要面对工作、感情和家庭期待的压力，"他说。"我觉得我的客户大多是感情上有空缺、或者遭遇过挫折的人。"

Human connection is a necessity but, in a society grappling with loneliness across generations, it has now also become a commodity.

人与人的连接是必需品，但在一个跨代际都在与孤独较劲的社会里，它如今也成了一件商品。

Back in her little Beijing flat, Yang is feeling more comfortable now that Yingwei has sorted out her problem of making the air conditioner work properly.

在北京她的小公寓里，英伟帮她解决了空调不好用的问题，杨奶奶现在舒服多了。

"It's good to have someone around when you need it, someone you can share your innermost thoughts with," she said.

"需要的时候身边有个人，能把心里话讲给他听，感觉真好，"她说。

"I did struggle with loneliness but that's been resolved now. I'm quite happy.

"我确实曾经被孤独折磨，但现在这个问题解决了。我挺开心的。

"I can't lose Yingwei and the others. They've all got a good heart."

"我不能失去英伟他们。他们心肠都很好。"

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