Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Retired Party members, families, and students volunteered at Gongbei Port in Zhuhai to provide consulting and cleaning services for an average of 500 people a day, and helped to maintain order during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday.

Gongbei Port is an immigration and customs checkpoint on Zhuhai's border with Macao. The Chinese New Year saw peaks in passenger flow with flocks of travellers from the Chinese mainland exiting to the east and Hong Kong and Macao people entering to the west. On the first and second days of the holiday, the port transited some 510,000 passengers, increasing about 20,000 over the same period of last year. 

A retired Party member volunteers at Gongbei Port, providing consulting services. [Photo / Zhuhai Daily]

It has become a tradition that volunteers from all walks of life guard Gongbei Port during busy periods. The port's administration office and Zhuhai Huamei Charity decided that the tradition should be continued, especially over the most traffic heavy hours of this holiday. 

Most volunteers were stationed at key passages keeping order and providing services for those asking directions or looking for lost companions, effectively avoiding security incidents. Other volunteers picked up trash around the square at the port to ensure a clean and beautiful Zhuhai.

Families pick up trash at Gongbei Port during the Spring Festival [Photo / Zhuhai Daily]

Respectable figures included two old members of the Chinese Communist Party -- Yin Ming and Xu Guangxue. Xu, 70, wearing a Party medal on his uniform, insisted on doing voluntary work during Spring Festival. He hopes that he can continue serving people, making more contributions to society.

"We began this year differently. Volunteering can help children experience the happiness arising from helping people in need," said a father who led his child in cleaning work. "It is also helpful to develop a spirit of serving others." He added.