Questions before goodbye

"My job is to watch other people cry. I cannot cry." Inside consultation room No 8 at the Shanghai Putuo Notary Public Office, notary Li Chenyang meets older people carrying some of life's most difficult questions.

One wants to ensure an estranged spouse never makes future medical decisions on their behalf. Another has never married and hopes someone will arrange her funeral according to her wishes. A father nearing 90 wants to secure the future of his son who is both hearing-impaired and visually challenged before he dies.

For Li, even the smallest details matter — the room temperature, the angle of a chair and the most convenient subway exit. He listens for wishes hidden between hesitant words, then translates personal fears into legal provisions.

These moments open the second season of When You Are Old, a six-episode documentary that premiered on Dragon TV and Tencent Video on July 14. Returning after two years, the series follows six groups of older people navigating love, illness, family relationships, property and personal autonomy.

More than 320 million people in China are aged 60 or above, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Population aging is reshaping family life and raising questions many would rather avoid: Who will provide care when someone can no longer look after themselves? Can trust extend beyond blood ties? Can those without spouses or children decide how to spend their final years?

Rather than explaining how to "age gracefully", the documentary asks a more fundamental question: Can people continue living on their own terms as they grow older?