Cultural exchange center to serve expats in Shenzhen

The Nanshan International Cultural Exchange and Service Center, which promotes cultural exchange and provides various kinds of services to expats, opened in Nanshan district, Shenzhen, on June 29.

Over 150 Chinese and expatriate residents from 29 countries attended the opening ceremony.

Afwata Okoko, a student from Kenya who is studying law at Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, said he regards the center as an inclusive place. "It's an international center, so it's a home for everyone," he said.

Paul Delahunty, a teacher with the international division of Nanshan Chinese International College, said he appreciates the establishment of the center.

"Having all of these resources in one place is invaluable," Delahunty said. "I've been here for a long time and I wish there had been something like the center when I first came to Shenzhen. It would've made life so much easier."

The center, hosted by Zhaoshang Subdistrict Office and located on the first floor of Imperial Park residential estate on Wanghai Road in Zhaoshang Subdistrict, is the largest international cultural exchange platform in Shenzhen.

The 870-square-meter center staffed with English-speaking social workers offers a variety of cultural and practical services to expatriates, ranging from courses on Chinese language and culture to free legal counseling.

The center also promotes cultural exchanges by offering courses in the guzheng, and tea art so expats can better understand and learn about traditional Chinese culture. Moreover, it organizes celebrations of Chinese and Western festivals to relieve expatriates' sense of homesickness.

The center has already started to disseminate the city's first English-language garbage classification guide. In the future, it plans to publish an English-language hospital guide in collaboration with Shekou People's Hospital and provide bilingual medical appointment services to help expatriates see doctors.

Additionally, the center facilitates a team of international volunteers to motivate expatriates to engage more in community activities. Currently, the team has over 60 Chinese and international members. It also plans to develop summer camps and salons in collaboration with international schools in the district, and organize roadshows to build an investment platform for expatriates.

Nanshan is home to around 28,000 foreign residents from 155 countries and regions, making it the district with the largest foreign population in Shenzhen and accounting for 44 percent of Shenzhen's total expat population.