Volunteerrepresentatives at Shanghai International Studies University wave flags at thelaunch ceremony on Thursday.
Many localuniversity students will be working as volunteers at the upcoming ChinaInternational Import Export. 
At ShanghaiInternational Studies University, 196 students, the largest group of volunteersfrom a local university, attended a launch ceremony on Thursday afternoon. 
They wereselected from 1,132 applicants and will serve exhibitors and visitors in 19languages, including English, French, Japanese, Russian, Hindi and Swahili.
Wang Jing,deputy Party secretary of the university, said it had provided more than 1,400volunteers for the expo since the first one in 2018.
“Being a CIIEvolunteer has become a fashion for our students, and we have also integrated itinto our education for our students,” she said.
Among thisyear’s volunteers, 75 percent can speak two foreign languages while 18 percentcan speak three. Five will serve the expo for the third time and 29 for thesecond time.
Gu Hang, asenior student majoring in Arabic, served at both previous expos.
“I have workedin the reception and the booth booking offices and this year I will bestationed at the press center in the National Exhibition and ConventionCenter,” he said. “I think I can practice and develop different skills atdifferent posts. My abilities in communication and handling emergencies haveimproved a lot. For example, in the reception office, we had to design visitingroutes for guests according to their purposes, background of culture andreligion and dining habits. All the detailed preparations should be carefullymade. Sometimes, I had to walk more than 40,000 steps a day.”
Gu said he hadonly one night to make preparations to receive a delegation. He used areception plan for a delegation from a country with similar culture forreference and fulfilled the task.
Gu suggested hisnew fellow volunteers smile more even when tired during the expo so as to showhospitality to all participants.
When serving theexpo, he also made his determination to become a diplomat.
“My teachersencouraged me to be a diplomat based on my academic performance andpersonality, and during the expo I also saw the charm of real diplomats, whichis attractive to me,” he said. “So I applied for a selection by the Ministry ofForeign Affairs for talent of less-spoken languages and passed it last year. Iwill join the ministry after graduation next year.”
Zhang Liwei, afirst-year doctoral student majoring in Russian, said he began studying inShanghai in September and this will be the first year for him to serve theexpo. Previously, he had been a volunteer for the Summer Davos meeting inTianjin. He will also serve at the press center during this year’s CIIE.
“The expo is agood opportunity for me to practice my language skills and experience the workof large-scale activities, which I think will be inevitable in my future work,”he said.
Zhang Xinyi, asecond-year master’s student majoring in diplomacy, said she joined thevolunteer team as Shanghai is a city full of voluntary spirit. She will serveas a translator for the expo back on campus.
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A launchceremony for volunteers who will serve the upcoming China International ImportExpo.
Wang said 9,281students at the university have registered as volunteers in Shanghai,accounting for 97.7 percent of its total. They provide at least 150,000 hoursof voluntary services every year.
Earlier thisyear, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the university established a teamof 1,180 volunteers to provide voluntary services in 27 languages toforeigners.
On Thursdayafternoon, the university signed a letter of intent with Shanghai’s foreignaffairs Office, emergency management bureau, youth league and some otherorganizations to improve the city’s service ability in foreign languages.
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A student atEast China University of Science and Technology shows a bag of anti-COVID-19items that includes masks and hand sanitizer, chocolate and a portable chargerfor volunteers.
On Wednesday,126 volunteers from East China University of Science and Technology alsoattended a ceremony to start their CIIE service.
Volunteers atthe World Expo 2010 and previous volunteers of the import expo also sharedtheir experiences.
He Xi, vice deanof the university’s Sino-German College of Technology and administrator ofvolunteers at the China Pavilion during the World Expo 10 years ago, sharedschemes of volunteer training and work shifts.
“The outstandingperformance of volunteers demonstrated Shanghai’s ability in urban governanceand hosting large-scale activities,” he said.
The experiencedvolunteers showed the badges they have collected in voluntary services.
This year, theuniversity has designed four badges for its volunteers, based on elements suchas the university gate, CIIE mascot Jinbao, the National Exhibition andConvention Center, the CIIE venue, and the China Pavilion during the World Expo2010.
The universityhas also prepared anti-COVID-19 items, such as masks, hand sanitizer, chocolateand portable charger, for its volunteers.
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Badges forvolunteers.