上海最早的国际社区——荣华国际社区20周年庆 - 2016年08月12日

THE Ronghua Neighborhood Committee recently held an event at the Gubei Civic Center to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Ronghua Neighborhood is Shanghai’s first residential community for expat families.

More than 33,000 people from nearly 50 countries and regions live here and 57 percent of them are foreigners. They make Ronghua Neighborhood a “United Nations” with a 2.02 square-kilometer area.

When people of different races and nationalities live in the same community, it is no exaggeration that any dispute could escalate into a diplomatic row.

“Community workers should establish good communication with families here to perform their duty,” said Sheng Hong, head of the Ronghua Neighborhood Committee.

“Residents in the international community take privacy seriously and they strongly protect their rights. This made our job a tough going,” she said.

Sheng, 36, previously worked in a foreign company and started her service in Ronghua neighborhood in 2010. She earned the nickname “Neighborhood Prime Minister” for being able to solve many problems in the community with her colleagues.

They mobilized Chinese and foreign residents who are enthusiastic about public affairs to set up the Gubei Civic Center. Twelve resident representatives are selected to work with Sheng’s team at the center.

They encouraged everyone in the community to contribute ideas for the maintenance and management of their neighborhood.

Jennifer Pode from the Netherlands suggested holding exhibitions of family collections and she was the first to do so. Ricardo Blazquez from Spain displayed his collection of maps of Asian countries.

Community workers helped Blazquez to frame the maps and served as guides at the show which drew the visit of Spanish consul general and many Chinese and foreign friends.

These exhibitions stimulated people’s interest. More residents wanted to show their collections and other talent. It has become a regular cultural event in Ronghua Neighborhood.

Resident representatives at the service center also formulated rules for pet owners and carried out a campaign to enforce these rules. With their efforts, a dozen pet toilets were created in public green space.

Ronghua Neighborhood which is a cluster of residential complexes has 37 homeowner associations and 27 property management companies. The neighborhood committee coordinates with property management companies, the police and security firms to ensure the safety of local residents.

As many residents are expat housewives, the neighborhood workers teamed up with Donghua University and other training institutions to teach them Chinese, music, fine arts and other courses. These classes attracted many foreign women and built friendship among them.

Ronghua community workers summed up their years of experience into a book on service etiquette, joint management and cultural integration for colleagues serving international communities. Its second edition was published earlier this year.

Sandhya Chandak from India has lived in Ronghua for 15 years. She is proud that her two daughters received awards at Chinese singing and calligraphy contests.

Wong Mei-hua from Taiwan has lived in Ronghua for over 20 years. She has won awards for being an outstanding volunteer at local nursing homes and an excellent social worker of Chang-ning District to raise charity funds.

Wong said she feels attached to Ronghua community and working at the neighborhood committee has become part of her life.

Noyan Rona from Turkey has lived 18 years in Ronghua and received a Magnolia Award, an official recognition of contributions a Shanghai expat made to the city.

“They help us with everything, big or trivial, to make us feel at home here,” Rona said about the community workers.

Editor’s note:

DRAWN by Shanghai’s enormous changes and opportunities as a result of reform and opening up, many foreigners and overseas Chinese came to work and live in the city. The Sixth National Census shows that there are nearly 210,000 people from 119 countries and regions living in some 50 international communities across Changning District. How to manage international communities in the city is a challenge for local authorities and community workers. They need to find good ways to deal with issues involving expatriates and overseas Chinese.