The Yao Autonomous County of Bama is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Hechi City in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. Located in the northwest of Guangxi, it is world-renowned as the “World’s Longevity Capital.” Internationally, the proportion of centenarians to the total population is the criterion for designating a place as a longevity destination — an area with 7.5 centenarians per 100,000 people can be called a longevity destination. On November 1, 1991, Dr. Shigekazu Mori, President of the International Natural Medicine Association and a Japanese longevity expert, announced at the 13th Annual Conference of the International Natural Medicine Association held in Tokyo that Bama was the world’s fifth “longevity destination,” following the Caucasus region, Hunza in Pakistan, Vilcabamba in Ecuador, and Hotan in China’s Xinjiang. Bama has the highest concentration of centenarians among the world’s five major longevity destinations, earning it the title of “World’s No. 1 Longevity Capital.” According to the 2008 census data, Bama had 81 centenarians, accounting for 31.7 per 100,000 people — more than four times the global standard. More importantly, both the proportion of centenarians in Bama and their average age are on the rise, with a growing number of residents aged 80 and 90 and above. It can be said that Bama is a cradle of longevity and a sacred land for the exceptionally long-lived.
