China Vanke, China's largest real estate developer by sales value, signed a contract on Aug 13 with the government in Changchun, the capital of Northeast China's Jilin province, to develop residential buildings for aged people.

The 12 billion yuan ($1.89 billion) contract also includes a project for the creative industry.

Yu Liang, president of China Vanke, said that the company chose Changchun because it is bullish about the city's potential and the healthy environment of the city's real estate industry.

China's population is aging fast. By the end of 2008, 12 percent of the population in China was over 60, and the figure is expected to grow to 16.7 percent in 2015, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.