Beijing's Xicheng district is to provide tailored assistance to senior citizens who have lost their only child, as caring for elderly parents becomes a growing problem nationwide.

Volunteers provide regular services to such families, including health checkups, grocery shopping and household chores, as part of a pilot project that started this month.

Volunteers from professional social work organizations will regularly visit such senior citizens to help with household chores, read newspapers to them, celebrate birthdays and take them on occasional tours.