"At Your Service,at Expo"-Volunteers Keep Busy at Expo 2010

Volunteers in green or blue uniforms now can be seen everywhere throughout Shanghai. With a warm smile on their faces, they are providing services both big and small for expo visitors. Yingying has the details.

Wang Ran is a student volunteer serving along the "Expo Axis" in the expo park. She is patiently directing a visitor to the Norway pavilion. Since the "Expo Axis" is one of the busiest commercial and traffic hubs, Wang Ran works almost non-stop during her shift from 4pm to 11pm. But she still remains patient and focused.

"We're helping others. So I don't feel tired. All of my team members alongside me are working hard as well."

Wang Ran says they've received professional training about the expo, first aid and social courtesies. Over 70,000 volunteers like Wang Ran are posted around the Expo Park. Due to the heavy work load, most of them haven't yet had time to check out the pavilions.

Besides the volunteers inside the expo venue, another 100,000 are serving at more than 1,000 volunteer stations around the city, a large number of whom are senior citizens. Pan Lihua is a retired Shanghai local. She and another four team members are working in a blue and white booth by the roadside in Shanghai's Nanwu community.

"We mainly answer information inquiries which cover tourism, shopping, catering, traffic and accommodation as well as language translation."

About 200 foreign volunteers are also contributing to the expo. Noyan Rona, from Turkey, is the head of the foreign volunteers group for the Shanghai Expo. He is checking the translation of every English sign on the street in Gubei, one of Shanghai's communities where expats gather. Noyan says he's been living in Shanghai for twenty years; he's proud to offer his help for the city's big event.

"I consider myself to be a local Shanghainese. As the host of the Shanghai expo, we should be well prepared to receive visitors."

A total of 2.17 million volunteers will be providing service to the expo 2010; this figure is about one tenth of Shanghai's population. Different to the Olympics, which lasted only two weeks, the expo will be staged over six months. So the volunteer work for this global event will be a test of endurance for all the volunteers, but one which they are looking forward to.

For CRI, I'm Yingying.