A vibrant pre-loved items exchange event held on June 11 became a microcosm of community building in Guangzhou’s Nansha thriving international district.
Organized by volunteers, the event drew both local residents and expatriate families, showcasing donated goods ranging from sports gear and books to cultural products and even live turtles. This kind of event, one of dozens taking place every month in Nansha, exemplifies how volunteering connections are reshaping the Nansha community, fostering a strong sense of belonging for its diverse international residents.
Donated second-hand items at the event lined up on four long tables in a cafe in Nansha.
Chen Yiqi, a Chinese language teacher married to a Russian, with a 9-year-old son named Slava, said these initiatives are fundamental for international families like hers to feel at home in Nansha.
Chen Yiqi's Russian-Chinese son took home his heart's desire: two living turtles from the second-hand exchange.
Residing in the Jiaomen River International Community, a pilot zone for Nansha's internationalization, Chen’s family actively participates in its diverse offerings, attending a wide variety of events from language corners and cultural experiences to community and environmental maintenance. "It’s only through these community connections that we truly find a sense of belonging," Chen stated, citing how their needs are listened to by the volunteer group and neighborhood committee through regular activities and cultural events organized voluntarily.
Chen Yiqi's husband, Ghost, from Russia, attended a voluntary session on making China's Song dynasty pastry.
Chen contrasted the Nansha experience favorably with other areas where volunteer connections in the community are relatively sporadic, noting that the proactive and friendly volunteer help also extends to daily issues, where fellow members patiently assist with policy explanations and other challenges.
Ghost drawing Chinese opera mask in voluntary session.
"The Nansha community shows exceptional friendliness towards foreign talent," she observed. "They genuinely possess an 'international community' mindset."
With her Russian husband Ghost being a fixture of volunteer activities in Nansha, Chen Yiqi remarked that the family even considered a permanent stay in the city.
Ghost participated in the Chinese poetry recitation session at voluntary Chinese language classes.
The multi-ethnic neighborhood in Nansha also brings a renewed lifestyle to the local community.
Familiar with such practices abroad, Ghost encouraged Xie Weiying, the event organizer, to hold this second-hand event in Nansha.
The team deliberately used “pre-loved” instead of just “secondhand” to refer to donated items, emphasizing the meaning they carried for their previous owners. This idea for the event name, suggested by Xie’s British colleague, was then widely applauded by Chinese members who traditionally shun the “used” nature of secondhand.
Xie used dog toys donated at the event to explain "pre-loved." Just because a dog outgrows a toy doesn't mean it wasn't loved.
In recent years, volunteer communities have been used as a tool for social cohesion and co-governance in fostering Nansha’s international cycle. Besides their social function, volunteer activities are also developed to collect opinions and address problems among residents. While some resident issues are handled by the volunteer group immediately, the more complex ones are referred to the neighborhood committee, creating a triangular structure of collaborative governance among the government, volunteer teams, and residents.
In volunteer activities in Nansha, suggestions for community improvement are collected along with casual conversations.
"Many expats arrive unsure about where to go or how to connect," Xie noted. "Through volunteering and community activities, they meet locals, feel welcomed, and help each other solve problems. Their feedback is overwhelmingly about the joy of making local friends while doing good."
A voluntary study session on environmental protection organized by Xie's team.
Xie said her volunteer team collaborates closely with neighborhoods across Nansha and even provides personalized solutions according to different neighborhood needs by either organizing volunteer activities themselves or rallying residents to help each other out.
Xie's volunteer team organized residents to visit and assist disabled elderly individuals in the neighborhood.
After the second-hand event, Ghost and Chen Yiqi’s son Slava further proposed a lawn clean-up with fellow members and an expansion of the activities to more international neighborhoods in Nansha.
Slava during a subsequent lawn clean-up.
Reporter | Huang Xinyi
Photo | Huang Xinyi, Interviewees provided to South, Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office
Editor | Hu Nan, James, Shen He
