Gubei community center for cross-cultural links

The Gubei area in Shanghai is one of the city's largest foreign communities, and is an example of how management and services for foreign neighborhoods are being handled in the municipality.

The Ronghua neighborhood committee set up the Gubei residents center in 2007 to provide expats with one-stop services such as information collection for immigrants, issuing residence permits and consultation on children's education, medical resources and social security.

"Formalities that needed to be dealt with in police stations, such as immigration registration after arriving in China within 24 hours, have been moved to the center for convenience," said Tang Lingyan, Party chief of the Gubei area.

"A leaflet with information is distributed to every new arrival in Gubei, including contacts of housekeeping agencies, pet stores for dog licenses, immunization and bathing, and legal consulting, which are provided by professional agencies and social organizations."

The area accommodates more than 10,000 households, with more than half of them from other countries.

Regular community activities are held to integrate foreigners with the local life and introduce them to Chinese residents.

"We regularly cooperate with the Shanghai Association of Korean Women to teach Chinese to make kimchi, which usually draws a full house," said Tang.

An activity for small handmade bags to hold spices used for keeping insects away will be held in the community during the coming dragon boat festival. Professors from the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine will be invited to lecture about the history and pharmacology of the spices.

Some expats keep appearing at the activities even after they settle elsewhere in the city, and they take friends and new arrivals to the events, according to workers from the committee.

Noyan Rona, a Turkish recipient of the 2005 Shanghai Magnolia Gold Award, which is presented to expats making remarkable contributions to the development of the municipality, is an enthusiast in the community activities, and many of his suggestions for community work have been adopted.

"He suggested making better use of the celebrities dwelling in the community, and with this idea we will have a 'celebrity lecture' after the residents center moves to a new site later this year," said Tang.

The center will expand into a three-story house, which will be an integrated service establishment and leisure destination.