Chongqing - On the morning of Oct. 5, Zourong Road in the Jiefangbei area of Yuzhong District was bustling with crowds. At the intersection, the red ticket booth of the City Sightseeing Bus station stood out, with backpack-carrying foreign tourists stepping inside from time to time.
At the service desk inside, a young volunteer in a dark blue uniform drew particular attention. She explained matters to foreign visitors while providing accurate interpretation for the staff. Tourists who had just bought tickets gave her a thumbs-up.
Zhou Huan talks with foreign tourists. (Photo/The interviewee)
The volunteer is Zhou Huan, a junior majoring in English education at Chongqing University of Education (CQUE). During the National Day holiday, she worked at the post for five consecutive days, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. "Rather than traveling, I want to do something more meaningful during this long holiday," Zhou said.
From Setbacks to Success
Dealing with foreign tourists is no easy task. As early as May this year, Zhou became a volunteer with Chongqing's inbound consumption youth service program, serving at Jiefangbei.
When she first started at the City Sightseeing Bus station, she assumed her professional spoken English and pre-memorized introductions to nearby attractions would suffice. Reality proved otherwise.
"Tourists ask all kinds of questions," Zhou recalled. "Some ask how to get to attractions or restrooms; some ask how long a bus route takes and whether they can hop on and off freely; some even ask me to recommend nearby restaurants and shops." Because she was not fully prepared, she quickly found herself struggling.
"What impressed me most was that a foreign tourist once asked me where a particular milk tea shop was, but I didn't know the area well enough to answer," she said. "Seeing the disappointment in his eyes made me feel very guilty."
Determined to improve, Zhou began collecting and categorizing frequently asked questions and designing tailored responses. After her shifts, she visited shops and restaurants tourists had inquired about to verify locations and routes. Over two months, she mapped out the area around Jiefangbei and could answer most questions on the spot. Some colleagues jokingly called her a "living map" of Jiefangbei.
A Friendship Forged Through Service
On WeChat, Zhou has a foreign friend she met through her volunteer work.
One day, a foreign visitor and his companions arrived at the City Sightseeing Bus station but ran into trouble choosing a route. The sightseeing bus routes differed greatly from their expectations, and proceeding as planned would have disrupted the rest of their itinerary.
Seeing the visitor anxiously flipping through a thick, homemade "Chongqing travel" guide, Zhou stepped forward. She carefully asked about their travel needs and worked with station staff to help remake their itinerary step by step. When the revised plan was completed, the visitor could hardly contain his excitement. He thanked Zhou, added her on WeChat, and invited her to visit his hometown.
Such stories are common in her volunteer work. "Since joining the inbound consumption youth volunteer service team, I have also been growing," Zhou said with a smile.
Growing Into a Leadership Role
Zhou is now the liaison for the volunteer team at CQUE, responsible for scheduling and coordinating volunteers from her university. At 5 p.m., after seeing off another group of foreign tourists, she took out a notebook and began planning upcoming service arrangements, not only her own, but also those of other volunteers.
As new tourists entered the ticket booth, Zhou stepped forward once again. "I want to be a good interpreter," she said, "so foreign visitors can better experience Chongqing's charm."
The Chongqing inbound consumption youth volunteer service project is jointly implemented by the Communist Youth League Chongqing Municipal Committee and the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce. Its first phase, running from February to July 2026, covers 10 key locations with high concentrations of inbound consumers: Terminal 3 of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Chongqing East Railway Station, Chongqing North Railway Station, Chongqing West Railway Station, Jiefangbei, Shancheng Alley, Ciqikou, Guanyinqiao, MixC, and Changjiahui.
More than 1,750 volunteer person-times participated in the first phase, serving approximately 800,000 person-times.