Shanghai United Foundation hosted a family charity hike for the second year on East and West Sheshan Mountain on Nov 7, to raise money for the elderly in need of help in Shanghai.

The event attracted more than 400 families. Participants had to climb over East and West Sheshan Mountain in a route totaling 8 kilometers. Families were encouraged to form several coalitions to expand the influence of the charity project by calling for donations through the Internet or from their friends.

This year's event introduced the idea of "Friends Asking Friends". Each family coalition has its own webpage for donations and is able to display the latest progress online and ask for more donations from relatives and friends.

The event website showed that by 3 p.m. in the afternoon, more than 345,000 yuan ($54,128) had been collected in donations, which would be given to Shanghai non-profit organizations working for the elderly.

Shanghai United Foundation, founded in Dec 2009, aims at uniting communities to contribute to public undertakings. With the population of Shanghai continuing to age, its charity hike for the benefit of older people is gaining attention, and has become one of the country's most influential public sector activities, with donations to date totaling 22.52 million yuan ($3.55 million).

Parents?with their children gather at the entrance of Sheshan?Mountain, ready for the family charity hike.?