Community sharing aims for happier lives

Zhuji, a county-level city in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, has been forging a new shared community model, as the nation's co-sharing economy gains momentum.

In Dingyuan community in Zhuji, fruits and vegetables at storage places for home-made foods are available for residents in the community, which was the province's first community to launch a "co-sharing basket" program.

"More residents are joining us in the food-sharing activity, and we are shaping a self-sufficient lifestyle," said Xu Guoai, the community's Party secretary.

In addition to food sharing, the community has launched similar projects for reading books, sharing umbrellas and providing places for children to play.

"Our community has become a shared space both materially and spiritually over the course of three years," said Wei Jianfu, the deputy director of the community owners committee, who initiated a series of activities to enhance the living environment in Dingyuan in 2017.

Wei and other committee members offered training classes and set up publicity boards to strengthen residents' awareness of garbage sorting. That led Dingyuan community to the top rank of livelihood projects among all the communities of its kind in the province.

Youyi community, another residential area in Zhuji, has formed a group of automobile keepers, including some retired elderly residents. They serve the community during rush hours, resolving disputes that arise between drivers and urging residents to avoid irregular parking.

"Since I have retired, I prefer to do something meaningful to help others, rather than watching TV at home. In this way I can also get to know more friends," said a 63-year-old resident surnamed Lin, one of the automobile keepers.

"We are devoted to building a harmonious community in which our residents help each other in daily life," said Sun Guiying, Youyi community's Party secretary, adding that ways will be explored to upgrade the sharing mode in the future.

Over the past five years, Zhuji's Dingyuan community has launched sharing services with vegetables, daily commodities and co-financed public facilities, such as children's playgrounds, to improve the quality of life of residents in its 322 households.

Zhejiang province launched a campaign last year that aims to foster the formation of 100 "future communities" — by the end of next year — that will highlight green, smart, human-centered urban residential communities and feature sharing. The idea is to enhance residents' sense of belonging to their communities and to encourage more people to help each other for a better life.

Cai Jingwen in Hangzhou contributed to the story.