GUANGZHOU, May 20 (Xinhua) -- South China's Guangdong Province abolished an old regulation on the market access of elderly care institutions to boost the development of the industry, local civil affairs authorities said Monday.

A registration and filing system will be put into practice to replace the previous license system, which has been implemented since December 20, 2014, to lower the threshold for setting up elderly care institutions. Social sectors are encouraged to participate in the industry.

The provincial department of civil affairs will issue relevant policy documents on the registration and supervision of elderly care institutions, to further promote services for the aged in Guangdong.

China saw improved elderly care system, with 163,800 elderly care institutions and facilities offering 7.46 million beds for senior citizens as of the end of 2018.

A raft of measures are being taken to accelerate the development of the elderly care service industry, including fully opening the elderly care market by 2020.