Photo taken in November, 2011 shows a centenarian couple in a village of Guizhou. (Photo/Zhengzhou Evening News)
Guizhou, one of the poorest provinces in southwest China, is home to 1,387 centenarians, according to official figures released Monday.
The figure means that four out of 100,000 people in the mountainous province are aged 100 or older, according to the provincial aging office.
More than 74 of the centenarians are women, and 86 percent of them live in the countryside, according to the office.
About 90 percent of the centenarians are between 100 and 105 years old, 102 of them are between 106 and 110 years old, and 32 are more than 110 years old, according to the office.
The oldest is Li Ying, a woman from Qianxi County, who was born in 1901. The oldest couple is from Zhenfeng County, with a 114-year-old husband and a 113-year-old wife.
Improved medical care and living conditions have contributed to the rising number of people who live to 100 and beyond. There are 500 newly reported centenarians this year, according to the office.
