HANGZHOU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- When Zhou Zhihong's 14-year-old granddaughter finishes her homework, she sometimes runs over to the 67-year-old with an unusual request -- Grandma, wanna play?
The two meet inside Naraka: Bladepoint, a multiplayer combat video game in which Zhou has become skilled enough to captain a senior team to victory.
Long associated with younger players, esports is entering some Chinese community classrooms and senior-care institutions, as organizers explore whether gaming can help older people engage more confidently with digital life, strengthen social connections and find common ground with younger family members.
Such experiments remain limited in scale, but they are taking place against the backdrop of China's aging population and the growing presence of older people online. At the end of 2025, China had more than 323 million people aged 60 or above, accounting for 23 percent of its population. By December, internet usage rate among that age group had reached 53.7 percent.
Mobile analytics firm QuestMobile, which defines "silver-haired users" as those aged over 50, said 351 million such users were active on China's mobile Internet by November 2025, up 5.8 percent year on year.
In Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Binjiang community college opened the city's first esports class for people aged 55 and above in November 2024. Nearly 150 older residents applied within three days. More than 60 attended the class, including an 82-year-old.
Some wanted to understand why younger people were so absorbed in games. Others were drawn to the game's martial arts setting, while some hoped to gain a new topic of conversation with their children and grandchildren, according to the community staff.
Li Aixia, 57, had wanted to learn esports before retiring. Her son often explained matches to her and her husband, Li Zhongli, 62. They listened without fully understanding, then decided to find out for themselves.
Now playing under the nicknames "Mad Swordsman" and "Enchantress," the couple limit themselves to three rounds on ordinary days because their eyes and finger joints tire. Before competitions, they train online with teammates and meet at cafes to practice and review misplays.
Gaming has also changed conversations at home. Li now discusses tactics and memorable moments with her son. During a family gathering, she put on her reading glasses, turned her phone sideways and joined her husband for a match, leaving older relatives staring in surprise.
The Hangzhou course was designed for people with little or no gaming experience. Its first five sessions began with downloading the game and learning the interface. Terms familiar to younger players were rewritten in plain language, while arrows were used to explain movement.
The learning curve was steep: only 30 to 40 made it through the five-session course. Some of those who did later became instructors themselves.
Gao Liying, 63, one of Zhou's teammates, reorganized her notes and practical experience, used an artificial intelligence tool to build an outline, and typed a 17-chapter manual into her phone over more than 20 days.
Retired photojournalist Pan Lianggan, 68, has since taught in community classrooms across seven districts and counties in Hangzhou. Having started with no gaming experience himself, he knows where older learners tend to struggle.
"Many forget what you have just explained within five minutes," he said. "You have to repeat it and let them practice again and again."
The college has now run seven cohorts for more than 300 learners and trained eight local instructors. Graduates of the first class have since taught in three pilot communities.
A different model is being tested in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. A senior-care service provider there has formed a seven-member esports team whose players average 65 years old, with the oldest aged 77. The team plays League of Legends and is coached by a teacher and students from the esports management program at Sichuan Film and Television University.
Hangzhou has placed gaming within a public community-education network, while Chengdu has combined it with senior-care services and team training. Together, the cases suggest that some older people want to go beyond learning how to scan a code or use an app, and take part in forms of digital entertainment familiar to younger generations.
Organizers, however, stress that the program is not intended to encourage unrestricted gaming.
In Hangzhou, practical play is time-limited, with finger warm-ups and compulsory breaks for participants to rest their eyes and stretch their shoulders and necks. Lessons also cover the risks of in-game purchases, unfamiliar payment pop-ups, fake rewards and scams involving private transactions.
College equipment is used in class, and families are encouraged to help older participants limit the time they spend gaming at home and manage access to in-game payments.
Ye Jianwei, director of the Binjiang community college's training center, said the course was designed not to train high-level gamers or encourage prolonged play, but to use esports as a tool for digital literacy.
For Zhou, the value is more immediate. Her granddaughter, she said, is delighted that her grandmother can play, and visits more often.
"After finishing her homework, she sometimes curls up with me and says, 'Grandma, one more round?'" Zhou said. "I'm happy that I can help her relax this way." ■
