During the May Day holiday, volunteers with international backgrounds were active on the historic arcade streets of Haikou.
“五一”假期首日，海口骑楼老街人头攒动、游人如织。当天，“海口Yeah”海口国际人才志愿服务团组织6名外籍团员，走进海口市中山路骑楼老街开展志愿服务活动，用热情与专业水准来服务游客。真诚而友好的“洋面孔”成为假期里海口一道独特的跨文化风景线。
On the first day of the May Day holiday, Haikou's Qilou Old Street was bustling with visitors. That day, the "Haikou Yeah" International Talent Volunteer Service Team organized six foreign members to carry out volunteer activities on Zhongshan Road Qilou Old Street, providing services to tourists with enthusiasm and professional competence. These sincere and friendly international volunteers became a distinctive cross-cultural highlight of Haikou during the holiday.
5月4日，游客在海口骑楼老街观光游览。记者 石中华 摄
在海口骑楼老街，尽管人流密集，但外籍志愿者们始终保持着饱满热情，统一穿着志愿服装，为来往游客提供道路指引、景点介绍等帮助，耐心解答游客关于乘车路线、特色美食、周边景点等各类问询。遇到外国游客，志愿者会用英语进行服务；对于中国游客，6名外国志愿者又都能用流利的中文耐心回应、细致讲解，用真诚的笑容传递温暖，打破语言与文化的隔阂。
“海口Yeah”海口国际人才志愿服务团由中共海口市委外事工作委员会办公室（海口市外事办公室）和海口市科学技术和工业信息化局（海口市外国专家局）共建，旨在搭建中外文化交流桥梁，凝聚国际人才力量，助力海南自贸港国际化建设。此前已累计开展各类志愿活动80余场，服务群众超3000人次，用实际行动为海口提升国际影响力注入新鲜力量。此次参与服务的6名外国志愿者分别来自巴基斯坦、缅甸、印度尼西亚等多个国家，他们主动放弃假期休息，化身“志愿使者”，扎根骑楼老街开展志愿服务。
On May 4, tourists were sightseeing on the Haikou Qilou Old Street. Photo by Shi Zhonghua. Despite the dense crowd, foreign volunteers at the Haikou Qilou Old Street maintained high enthusiasm, uniformly wearing volunteer uniforms to provide guidance for visitors and introduce scenic spots, patiently answering various inquiries about transportation routes, local cuisine, and nearby attractions. When encountering foreign tourists, the volunteers offered assistance in English; for China tourists, all six foreign volunteers responded fluently in Chinese with detailed explanations, conveying warmth through sincere smiles and bridging language and cultural barriers.
"The Haikou Yeah" Haikou International Talent Volunteer Service Team was jointly established by the Foreign Affairs Work Committee Office of the Haikou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (Haikou Foreign Affairs Office) and the Haikou Municipal Bureau of Science, Technology and Industrial Information Technology (Haikou Foreign Experts Bureau). Its mission is to build a bridge for cultural exchange between China and other countries, unite international talent resources, and support the international development of the Hainan Free Trade Port. To date, the team has organized over 80 volunteer activities, serving more than 3,000 individuals, thereby contributing tangible efforts to enhance Haikou's international influence. The six foreign volunteers participating in this initiative hail from countries including Pakistan, Myanmar, and Indonesia. They voluntarily gave up their holidays, transforming into "volunteer ambassadors" who dedicated themselves to providing services along the historic arcade streets.
游客在海口骑楼老街涂鸦墙处打卡拍照。记者 石中华 摄
此次“五一”假期志愿服务活动，不仅为骑楼老街的旅游服务注入多元因素，缓解客流高峰期间的服务压力，更让外籍志愿者在实践中深入了解海口文化、融入城市生活，进一步推动了中外文化的交流与融合。下一步，“海口Yeah”海口国际人才志愿服务团将继续吸纳更多国际人才加入，开展更多专业化、标准化的志愿活动，让“洋面孔”成为海口志愿服务的鲜活名片，助力打造更具国际范、更有温度的滨海旅游城市。
Tourists take photos at the graffiti wall along Haikou's Qilou Old Street. Photo by Shi Zhonghua. This May Day holiday volunteer service initiative not only enriched tourism services on the Qilou Old Street and alleviated pressure during peak visitor periods, but also enabled foreign volunteers to gain deep insights into Haikou's culture and integrate into urban life through practical experience, further promoting cultural exchange and integration between China and other countries. Moving forward, the "Haikou Yeah" International Talent Volunteer Service Team will continue recruiting more international participants and organizing more professional, standardized volunteer activities, turning these international contributors into a vibrant hallmark of Haikou's volunteer services and contributing to the development of a coastal tourist city with greater international appeal and warmth.
