China’s quest for longer life

Attendees at a longevity and anti-ageing conference trying out a cryotherapy chamber, in Shanghai. Longevity labs, ‘immortality islands’ and grapeseed pills are part of China’s national project to conquer ageing. — Qilai Shen/The New York Times

WHEN a Chinese state television microphone recently caught Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin – both 72 – chatting breezily about living to 150, plenty of people winced. The internet erupted with jokes and dread in equal measure.

Inside the bright, humming lab of Lonvi Biosciences in Shenzhen, though, no one rolled their eyes.