SBS Dateline | Never Say Die

What’s the secret of a long and happy life? It’s the eternal unanswered question, but Dateline could have the answer.

Video journalist Adrian Brown travels to China’s remote Bama County, which is home to a significant number of the world’s oldest people.

Luo Meizhen, for example, is believed to be 126 this year, but records simply don’t go back to 1885. She’s one of 270 local people aged 90 or over… some are even still working.

According to locals, their secrets are everything from an abundance of fresh air, to the leadership of Chairman Mao, or even a lack of sex.

But with more and more tourists coming to see them, and a push to make the area a centre for health tourism, could the trappings of the modern world end the old way of life?

WATCH - Click to see Adrian's story.

RADIO INTERVIEW - Adrian Brown talks to SBS's World News Australia about his story, including more on why the people he met might be living so long.

REPLAY - Adrian's recent story on the number of virtually uninhabited cities being built in China has become the most popular report on the website so far this year. Click to replay China's Ghost Cities.

VIRTUAL CHINESE COMMUNITY - Visit SBS's online community for Mandarin and Cantonese speakers, including more on this story.