Greek twins Marianna and Sofia Erotokritou delivered a fresh batch of thousands of protective face masks to the Greek police on June 10 to assist their country’s fight against COVID-19, continuing their work as informal ambassadors of Sino-Greek friendship in recent years.

The two young students, who have been living and studying in China since 2013, launched a campaign via WeChat to gather the supplies. Many of their Chinese friends donated sums for the purchase of 10,000 masks.

In May, they delivered 4,000 masks to the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and 1,000 to a hospital in Athens. On June 10, they handed over 2,000 masks to the director of the Direct Action Directorate of Attica.

Since February 26, when the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in Greece, the country has registered 3,287 infections, including 190 deaths.

After a full lockdown that lasted from March 23 to May 4, Greece is gradually returning to normalcy, but the need is still there for citizens to keep social distances and wear masks in enclosed spaces.

Marianna and Sofia have been closely following the developments in the two countries from Athens, where they are stranded since January. They will fly back to China in autumn for their graduation, they told Xinhua.

“We received messages of support and solidarity from people in China who wanted to help, so we came up with this idea,” Sofia explained.

Back in China, the Greek twin sisters have been making a name for themselves online, acting as virtual ambassadors for their home in China.

Like most others who break into the industry, Marianna and Sofia stumbled upon live-streaming by chance. When they first decided to upload videos of themselves, little did they realize that they would find such a receptive audience in China.

In the beginning, the sisters uploaded short videos in Mandarin about popular spots in Beijing they visited, such as Nanluogu Xiang and Sanlitun, introducing the food they tasted. To their surprise, they received very positive comments online and more live-streaming requests from their fans.

Since then, their regular broadcasts on NetEase platforms are eagerly lapped up by audiences keen to understand the finer nuances that link the two countries. Be it food, fashion, theater, or even aspects that cover their daily lives, the sisters have managed to be a cultural connection point in their own unique way.

They have become known for live-streaming themselves strolling among white houses with blue domes on the island of Santorini; tasting traditional stuffed Greek pies at Monastiaraki Square in the capital Athens; and riding a tandem bicycle on the ancient city walls of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi Province.

“China seems to be a very mysterious country, just like Greece,” said Sofia, the younger sister by one minute. “We wanted to explore and feel this historical country in person, so we decided to study in Beijing.”

Marianna and Sofia joined Beijing’s University of International Business and Economics in 2014, majoring in international economics and trade.

(Xinhua-China Daily)