Qingdao 2011

New activities, renewed lives

By Dai Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-07-04 08:16

Service center of the Yancheng Road community in Shinan district, Qingdao.

Seventy-year-old retired teacher Zhan Yuanfen is attentively warming up for a dance class at the Hong Kong Garden Community Center in Shinan district.

Stretching her legs, extending her arms, flexing her waist - she does every movement as intently as a primary school student.

"We are so thankful for what the district government has done for us," Zhan told China Daily, recalling the old days when there was no place for locals to have community activities.

"We had boring lives because our children have their own work or schools, leaving the aged lonely at home," she said. "We had no idea where to go to pass the time. I often felt useless and depressed."

Her dance classmate, 60-year-old Li Lifen, felt the same.

"I was with my grandchild for years, but now she is old enough for school. I felt jobless for a second time, similar to when I retired several years ago."

They were excited in 2009 to hear the district government had started building a spacious, modern community center for the neighborhood.

After two years, the 1,400-square-meter center is complete with function rooms where residents both learn skills and have fun.

"I'm here every day, even on weekends. All the dance classes, singing classes - even computers and English - are open for free," she said, showing off a swan-like pose.

"Aren't we looking like young people again?"

Gong Xue, a staff member at the center, witnessed the enthusiasm of the residents for the past two years as the community facility was built.

She said the senior citizens are very active in all the activities organized by the center. "They come and go on time every day as if they are doing a job they love here."

According to Gong, the center has rooms for playing chess and cards, dance classes, a university for the aged, courses on healthcare, finance and flower cutting, and a popular bilingual reading room for children.

More than 5,000 English titles including children's books are neatly arranged in the reading room.

A volunteer mom named Zuo Zhenci at work shelving the books said "we have more than 5,000 English books of different kinds, among them more than 2,000 original English picture books".

For Chinese children, especially those from poor families, it was before hard find these kinds of books," Zuo said.

Since the reading room opened, more than 30 children have been here to read and hear English classes that are free to poor families.

"I am moved by the building of the center, so I decided to do as much as I can to help in the development of the community and residents," Zuo said.

Song Liqing, chief of Shinan district publicity, said entertainment offered at the center makes a tremendous contributions to the building of a harmonious society.

"It provides people a place to communicate as well as to do things they are interested in, which will make the society more harmonious." Song said.

With administrative power entrusted to the community level, conflicts that might have led to serious incidents have been successfully diffused at the grassroots level.

Each community center has its own characteristics. There is a psychological consultation room at Kangjiazhuang Community Center, while Yangkou Road Center provides special facilities for disabled people.

At the Yunxiao Road Center, 63-year-old Ma Linhua was reading in the library. He seemed to be absorbed in the books.

"I come after breakfast," said Ma, who lives only 100 meters away. Before the new center was completed he wandered on the streets or shut himself home watching TV. At the center he finally found a superb place to spend his time reading.

The new community centers also attract foreigners as both volunteers and participants.

David Landler, an American with a trading company in Qingdao, often comes to the center to learn Chinese from his neighbors in Zhanshan community center.

(China Daily 07/04/2011 page24)