BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A mobile app which offers access to information about nursing homes in China, the first of its kind, has been put into a trial run in Beijing, according to its developer, the social welfare center under the country's civil affairs ministry.

Based on the national elderly care service information system, the app can show detailed information about nursing homes including their locations, scale, services provided, charges and evaluation of users, the center said in a statement.

The app can be opened in the instant messaging tool Wechat, instead of needing to be downloaded from app stores, according to the statement.

It is aimed to promote the transparency of nursing homes nationwide and make information about their internal service and safety management and infrastructure available to the public, to strengthen oversight over the elderly care industry, mobilize social forces and better promote nursing homes across the country, it said.

Currently, the platform has published information about 358 Beijing-based elderly care institutions and is expected to include more institutions from other provincial-level regions after the trial run.