Expat promotes cross-border friendships

Editor's note: Spring Festival is the most important event in the Chinese calendar. It is a time for family reunions, when tens of millions travel home, with some covering vast distances to be with their loved ones. The 40-day travel rush, known as Chunyun, which straddles Lunar New Year, is the world's largest annual human migration. However, some people put the comfort of others before their own enjoyment by volunteering during the festive period. Below, we profile one such individual.

Every morning during Spring Festival, a Russian woman appears at Hunchun Railway Station, which is served by China's high-speed rail network, in Jilin province. At the station, she answers passengers' questions in Chinese and Russian.

Recently, after entering the station, a Russian couple gave Marina Zotova the thumbs-up for helping them book tickets and for translating information about the station.

Zovota, from Vladivostok in East Russia, has acted as a volunteer at the station during the Spring Festival travel rush, known as Chunyun, for the past three years.

The 35-year-old arrived in China in 2012 as an exchange student at Harbin Institute of Technology. She became fluent in Mandarin in just one year, and is employed as a service specialist by the city's international talent service and communication center.

Hunchun, the only city in China to border Russia to the north and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the south, has received a growing number of foreign visitors in recent years - including many Russians.

As the only road port crossing to Russia in Jilin, Hunchun receives many Russians who visit for travel and shopping. In her job at the communication center, Zovota's work revolves around helping Russians rent houses, apply for accounts with local banks and register companies.

When Hunchun Railway Station began recruiting expat volunteers in 2015, Zovota quickly offered her services. Her language skills ensured that she easily got to grips with the job.

"I advise people where to buy tickets, and where the supermarket and toilets are. Many Russian visitors don't speak Chinese, so I want to help them," she said. During the Spring Festival travel rush, she assists thousands of passengers.

In addition to offering translation services, Zovota and her colleagues have developed an electronic appliance that offers a Russian-language self-help system to better serve the needs of Russian passengers. Visitors can easily access information about the railway with a tap or two on the screen.

Zovota has also been teaching the Chinese staff members rudimentary Russian - a twice-a-week course starts with basic words and phrases.

In her spare time, she is a cultural ambassador, introducing Russian customs and the country's main attractions to Chinese passengers in the waiting hall.

In 2012, she met a local man named Wang Hai at a trade fair and they fell in love at first sight. Soon after, she decided to stay in China and marry Wang. They live in Hunchun with their 5-year-old son.

With the Spring Festival travel rush now in full swing, Zovota is constantly on duty at the station.

"Spring Festival is the time for family reunions. Watching everybody carrying all kinds of festival gifts at the station, I feel warm inside and happy to help people in need." she said.