A group of young people in China have turned themselves into “shared children” on social media so they can offer assistance to older strangers as if they were their parents.

On the mainland social media platform Xiaohongshu, the hashtag #HelpingEachOthersParents has attracted 6 million views.

Many of those involved have been sharing their experiences or intentions in connection with the innovative pastime.

An influencer called Xiaogang with 580,000 followers, set up an informal scheme to help older people in Beijing.

In a video he posted, he carried heavy groceries for a middle-aged man, helped a woman who was collecting her registration ticket from a machine at a hospital and bought bottled water for a group of cleaners resting at the roadside on a hot day.

Whenever he offered his services, Xiaogang called the people he helped “mum” and “dad” and told them to think of him as their own son.

At the end of his video, he revealed that about 100 people had joined his campaign and had promised to do what he does.

Xiaogang lives about 500km from Shanxi province in northern China where his parents are.

Like many others who belong to the shared children campaign, Xiaogang hopes young people living near his parents will join in and help them on his behalf.

“We look after your parents and you have our parents covered” is one of the campaign’s slogans.

In another post that went viral on July 7 and attracted 1.8 million views, a user @Dafengsasa asked online strangers to help her mother, 54, who was travelling alone for the first time to Beijing from central China’s Henan province.

She posted a photo of her mother at the railway station with the caption, “If you see a woman wearing this outfit looking for help, please kindly offer it.”

The post received thousands of likes, with many people in Beijing promising they would help.

Days later @Dafengsasa said her mother received a great deal of help and had returned home safely.

“Honour the elderly in other families as we honour those in our own,” one person, citing an old saying from Confucian philosopher Mencius.

Many migrant workers in China and abroad welcomed the campaign, feeling reassured that their parents would have the help they needed when they were not there to offer it.

China has nearly 300 million migrant workers. The number of employed people nationwide was 740 million at the end of last year.

 - SCMP