thanks for staying with us. on a chinese national holiday in early april, many people leave early in the morning for a long trip. they travel out to the suburbs where they pay respect to their ancestors at this cemetery. it's a custom dating back more

than 2000 years. the chinese believe that the spirit lives on in another realm which is why the living make offerings to the dead. burning bills is a way to send money to the deceased with hoepsz thhopes that they can live comfortably in the afterlife. the chinese have always had a deep connection with their ancestors, treating them as if they were still alive. however, they constantly avoid addressing death itself despite its inef vit ability for themselves and their families. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> but in an aging nation where nearly 10 million people die each year, too many, death feels increasingly immanent. in this time transition, one doctor has introduced a new system where patients and their families can openly confront the issue at medical facilities. [ speaking foreign language ]

the meaning of life and death are becoming more deeply considered thanks to the unique measure. this episode follows the people who attempt to change chinese values concerning life and death. shanghai is an economic giant within china. the average life span here has exceeded 83 years, the longest among all chinese cities. the reason for this is the high standard of living and the nation's top notch

few dong university shanghai cancer center is china's oldest hospital specializing in cancer treatment. more than 1 million patients visit this hospital every year from all over china. in order to treat all of them, the hospital has set up 26 departments. among more than 500 specialists, physicians with good reputations get flooded with many patients come here in hopes of getting china's latest treatments but some have little chance of recovery had they're cancer has worsened. this integrated therapy department was established for such seriously ill patients. it's where china's first

palliative treatment was introduced in 2016. palliative treatment seeks to relief pain and temporarily improve conditions rather than treat the disease itself. it prioritizes quality of life by providing painkillers and removing acidic flu wids and other treatments so that patients can live out their remaining time peacefully and comfortably. many patients who come here pass away within a month. every morning a group of specialists check in on around ten patients. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> this doctor is the pioneer of palliative treatment in china. for years it broke his thoort watch teshl nally ill cancer patients suffering, so he moved to the u.s. in 2004 to study palliative treatment. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> but, it wasn't easy. most patients and their families refused to accept reality sacrificing the patient's quality of life. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> he says he felt the difficulty of getting the chinese to fully accept and implement palliative treatment because the goal is not to seek full recovery.

[ speaking foreign language ] >> on this day, a patient suddenly lost consciousness. the woman has terminal lung cancer that has ma staft sized in her stomach and digestive systems. she regained consciousness but remained in a

[ speaking foreign language ] palliative treatment to the patient's husband and daughter. he provided painkillers and medication to prevent internal bleeding. cheng left the hospital room to patient's condition.t about t in order to deliver the unfortunate news to the family, he spoke to them outside the room where the patient could not hear.

cheng believes that the most important thing in treating a terminally ill patient is the trust with the patient's and their families. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> the next day, the patient pass away without suffering. [ speaking foreign language ] >> cheng's continuing work gradually became famous through various media reports. this, in turn, helped raise awareness and understanding of palliative treatment. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> in 2012, shanghai became the first chinese city to implement a policy spreading terminal care among medical institutions within the city. currently, terminal care is provided at 76 medical facilitiesny shanghai, the highest number in all of china. this hospital is one of them. this facility accepts patients suffering not only from cancer, but also from strokes or dementia. under 24-hour care, many patients have chose tone spend their last moments here. every saturday young members of an ngo come visit the hospital.

they call themselves hand in hand. their members volunteer at six end of life care facilities in shanghai by keeping patients company. [ speaking foreign language ] >> the volunteers consist of the students, company employees, and other people who help patients spend their last days comfortably and pleasantly by taking care of their meals or acting as conversation partners. the most important thing is to encourage patients who may feel

hopeless and insecure. the volunteers have become essential supporters not only for the patients, but also for their families. [ speaking foreign language ] >> whn doctors, nurses, and volunteers work together, they can provide better healthcare to patients. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ]

>> and in hand began its activities in 2008 at the hospital where cheng works. it was two years after it began palliative treatment for cancer patients. on this day, the founder of the ngo accompanied the videos. this man is the chairman of hand in hand. he founded a trading company in 1996, but when overwork and the name of financial gain rhee end his health he began to question the meaning of his life. what changed him was the 2008

great earthquake which left close to 90,000 people dead or missing. he's volunteered at disaster areas, he decided to devote his life to helping others. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ]

>> he gathered fellow volunteers and launched an ngo. but initially many volunteers quit because they could not bear the deaths of the patients they had befriended. this april, hand in handheld a volunteer training workshop in shanghai. the goal was to have members understand the significance of their activities, gain problem-solving skilds, and strengthen them psychologically for the emotionally taxing volunteer work. a university professor researching social work was invited to give a tek lecture on the theories and knowledge of end of life care during this two-day workshop. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] force. >> these volunteer training workshops are held regularly twice a career. they may be the reason far fewer volunteers quit after a short period. [ speaking foreign language ]

lafrlgs r [ speaking foreign language ] >> hand in hand now has about 100 volunteers. thanks to a growing reputation, the organization is run through subsa dies and donations. but its founder is not satisfied with the current situation. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> in april, 2016, a facility that he had been working on opened in shanghai. after being completed with private funds and donations from crowd funding, the death simulator opened. tickets are person. roughly 60 u.s. dollars. up to 12 participants experience

the facility, over three to four-hour sessions. [ speaking foreign language ] >> participants are asked questions about life and death from various per stespectives a each person compressexpresses t opinion. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> as many views on death are being deliberated, each participant is chosen and led to the death simulator this is the image of the spirit exiting the body after death and floating through space. eventually the body reaches a creamtorium, where they lie down and go into a simulated insinner

ratetor. the images and sounds of fire coupled with a heat wave enables participants to undergo incineration. they experience their own death. participants are all monitored by a psychological counselor since some people panic in a simulated after their so-called death, participants go through rebirth. many people say they have become more conscious of life after this. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> in its first year since opening, the facility has attracted almost 3,000 visitors. he hopes that even more people will visit in the future. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> he has devoted himself to alleviating the pain of cancer patient. he also hopes that people's per inspect tifsz on life and death will change. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> whether people can change traditional values to seriously face death and cherish and rich and dignified life is bound to form a path in china's future.

if you take the place across greater manchester as we speak. >> police have identified