I Will Come Again to the Next China—ASEAN Expo

Chen Libing 　Huo Li

During each session of the China-ASEAN Expo， there are groups of people who are in uniform clothes and hats and almost appear in each and every corner. They are called “the ambassadors of the China-ASEAN Expo”. They guarantee the success of the Expo by providing free service in the Convention and Exhibition Center， exhibition halls and airport； they play the role of envoy of friendship in the exchange and cooperation between China and ASEAN members with their thorough service and warm smiles. They have a common name — the volunteer of the China-ASEAN Expo.

2018 marks the 15th anniversary of China-ASEAN Expo， which means 15 years of cooperation and achievements. Behind that is the excellent and considerate volunteer service. On this occasion， let us explore the stories behind the volunteers and learn about the China-ASEAN Expo in a different perspective.

“Inclusiveness， sincerity and friendliness everywhere”

“In your eyes， what is the China-ASEAN Expo about？” Perhaps in many peoples view， it will be described as high-end， classy and popular. But in the eyes of Zeng Xiaoman， one of the volunteers， the Expo is not only high-end and classy but also an international event that shows inclusiveness， sincerity and friendliness.

Zeng Xiaoman， an English major student in Guangxi Normal University， told us that during the 14th China-ASEAN Expo， she worked as an interpreter for the reporters from Brunei. This was her first volunteer experience in the Expo and a real challenge for her， but she cherished the rare opportunity very much to work with her professional skills.

“Brunei was the themed country of the 14th Expo， and there were many events and activities every day. So I would check the calendar ahead of the events and help the reporters to make a choice. If they chose to participate， I would make travel plans for the next day， including contacting the vehicle team，” said Zeng. In the meantime， she would hold regular meetings， no matter how late the work would be ended， to properly solve the problems raised by foreign media reporters and friends.

“I remember one busy day， we finished our work quite late and returned to the hotel after 22：00. We still held regular meetings to report the whole day work to the leaders and solve some problems that occurred on that day. It was two oclock， but everyone was smiling when we walked out of the meeting room.” Although these jobs seemed normal and trivial， they required teamwork and responsibility of everyone who worked for the Expo.

“At a media exchange meeting， when reporters from foreign media asked questions， the officials from the Expo secretariat were very gentle and patient to explain and provide ways for improvement. The whole meeting was full of friendliness，” said Zeng. One of the reporters once raised doubts — Nannings Yongzhou Hotel is far away from the Convention and Exhibition Center， why in Yongzhou Hotel？ In response， the official told the reporter that this had a historic source. When the first Expo was just held in 2004， foreign media reporters had been arranged accommodation in the Yongzhou Hotel. In the past 14 years， Yongzhou Hotel also actively cooperated and improved its infrastructures and facilities in order to provide a better accommodation for foreign media reporters.

“Hearing this explanation， the reporter readily accepted， and after finishing the translation， I deeply felt sincerity and goodwill at the same time. We can see that everyone is working their best for a better Expo in the future，” Zeng Xiaoman said with emotion.

At the same time， it is also such thoughtful service that made the guests feel warm and received a lot of complements from foreign guests. “One of the senior reporters from Brunei who participated in Expo for many times had privately told me that from his experience， the reporters can really see the progress every year and the hard work of all the working staff and thats wonderful arrangement，” said Zeng.

“Willing to be a friendly exchange messenger for China and foreign countries”

“The Expo brings together heads of state from China and the ASEAN members to hold discussions on the international affairs and provides a good platform for all countries to exchange experiences， develop peace and enrich the people. It is a beautiful name card of Guangxi. It is great honor for me to work as a volunteer，” Wei Simen， 2016 student at the School of Foreign Languages of Guangxi Normal University， said in an interview with China-ASEAN Panorama.

During college years， he had organized and participated in various volunteer activities many times. He realized deeply that volunteering needs to be done in details and hoped the actions would pass positive energy to other people. In that way， thanks to his past volunteer service experience， he had known the importance of preparation. All these experience provided a great help to his volunteer work during the Expo.

“During the 14th Expo， I was assigned to be a interpreter for the team of Cambodian correspondents. I remembered when the opening ceremony was held， reporters in many countries， including Cambodia， wanted to have a close interview with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. However， Due to the tight schedule and the safety order on the ground， the Cambodian journalists had failed. But when leaders of the State visited the pavilion after the opening ceremony， our previous detective exercises worked. When the Prime Minister Hun Sen was visiting the Cambodia National Pavilion， he was very kind to the audience and shook hands with people. Therefore， the reporters caught the chance to get their shots done at a close range，” said Wei.

There were many other such “helping others” deeds. For example， during the Expo， they temporarily hosted the couple of Italian reporters in Beijing and helped them to interview experts and scholars and helped Japanese journalists find their companions and received praise of foreign guests. “The Italian couple considered me as a ‘Very very excellent problem solver. At the same time， they also said they would often come to Nanning in the future to witness the development of the city，” said Wei.

The roses in others hand， the flavor in mine. Through volunteer service， Wei has not only helped foreign friends， but also gained the precious experience and friendship.

During the Expo， Wei also briefed Cambodian journalists on the achievements of China in recent years and told them how to use WeChat and Alipay. At the same time， Cambodian journalists also told him the progress they made in recent years in Phnom Penh， the capital of Cambodia as well as Chinas aid construction to Cambodia. “They have repeatedly mentioned that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has called China a friend and that there are many ethnic Chinese in Cambodia with many customs and habits similar to those in China，” said Wei.

“Tired but happy”

Qin Jingmei， a finance major student currently studying in Guangxi University， was also one of the 14th China-ASEAN Expo volunteers. Different from other volunteers， she worked as the director of the Advanced Technology Museum. She had started the preparation work a few days before the official opening of the Expo.

“My job was to coordinate exhibitors to deal with all kinds of matters related to the arrangement of booths， such as opening doors， telling exhibitors addresses， and informing the safety matters of electricity. At the time of the meeting， we needed to pay attention to the safety of the visitors in the exhibition hall and to ensure the safety exit clear，” said Qin. Although there was a lot to deal with， she felt “tired but happy”.

However， inexperienced volunteer such as Qin was not always on a smooth way. What she could do was to learn to convince people by reasoning， and as the saying goes， practice makes perfect. “During the exhibition， there was a row of booths extending beyond the original emergency route， so I went to talk to the person in charge. But at the beginning they did not understand， and after I told them about the potential safety hazard in doing so， they started to understand and rearrange their booths according to the regulations，” said Qin. At that time， she was really nervous， but later she had a sense of accomplishment by solving the problem. And after this incident， her work was getting better and better.

“Dedication， Friendship， Mutual Assistance and Progress”， we can see that the above three volunteers showed the spirit of volunteer most vividly. However， they are just the epitome of many volunteers. In the 14 years China-ASEAN Expo there are many people like them who ensure the smooth progress of the Expo with their own modest efforts. There were 1823 volunteers from Guangxi University， Guangxi Normal University， Guangxi University for Nationalities and other Guangxi colleges and universities during the 14th Expo. They took the work of directing the way， translating and interpreting， document handling， traffic diversion and materials delivery and so on. And they provided service for more than 30 units and 110 positions with a total service of 9495 times and more than 75，600 service hours.

“Tired but happy，” this is the common feeling of many volunteers. If you ask them whether they are willing to continue serving as volunteers for the Expo， you will get affirmative answers. “There is not much chance in life to do just one thing at one time， and I would like to thank the Expo for giving me this opportunity that can benefit all my life. If there is a chance， I would still like to work as a volunteer for the Expo again，” said Zeng Xiaoman.