China has nearly 60,000 centenarians

Beijing: A total of 58,789 centenarians are living in China, and the oldest is 128 years old, the Gerontological Society of China revealed on Tuesday.

Three-quarters of the long-living people are women, and most of them are living in the countryside, Xinhua reported citing the society.

Provinces with the most centenarians are south China's Hainan and Guangxi and central China's Anhui, where the environment is good and the economy is "moderately developed".

The society found that most of the centenarians enjoy outdoor activities, are willing to communicate with others, and maintain a healthy diet.

Chinese people aged 60 and over numbered more than 202 million by the end of 2013, or nearly 15 per cent of the total population.