The 2017 summer vacation is about to end, and many high school and college students have chosen to spend their summer breaks out and about instead of staying cooped up at home.

Some of them took part in charitable activities and some became volunteers as traffic guides or teachers.

Tan Yi is one of them. She is a junior from Shenzhen Institute of Information Techology and it was her first time traveling to a village to become a teacher for students in the mountainous area of Heping County, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province. She said the experience was very fulfilling as she witnessed how her students transformed from being very shy to become outspoken and confident enough to speak in front of others.

Tan is the head of the painting group who taught students watercolor painting, Chinese calligraphy and papercutting. “At first, some students were too shy to look into my eyes and answer questions. But when we got to know each other, they would say hello and ask questions. Although we only spent one week together, we’ve become good friends. On the day we left, the students held my hands and wouldn’t let me go. We are still in contact now,” Tan said, adding that “I’ve never thought that I could do my part for Shenzhen’s efforts in targeted cultural pairing assistance by teaching students art.”

Tan is among 110 teachers and students from her college. Over the course of a week, the delegation taught a wide variety of courses covering safety education, science and technology, outdoor activities and team exercises to more than 160 elementary and middle school students in Xiajian Village and other neighboring villages.

Students from Shengping Elementary School chose to spend their vacation by going to the streets as traffic guides. The students were accompanied by their parents to guide the traffic and ease traffic jams during rush hour.

A parent surnamed Zhang said: “Such activity is very meaningful. By working with my son, we can strengthen our bonds and enrich his vacation.”

It was estimated that more than 300 students have participated in such volunteering activities since early July.

Schools across Shenzhen have all devoted themselves to helping students improve their communities by promoting environmental protection activities such as educating the public on water conservation and picking up trash. (Yang Mei)