Service platform, culture of volunteering fulfill locals' wishes

Yao Guimei breathes a sigh of relief as she sells 5 kilograms of spring tea, at a decent price, before the seasonal market price for it drops.

The elderly resident of the county city of Ningxiang in Central China's Hunan province was able to do so thanks to a special platform set up by the local government promoting products for sales and advertising the needs of those less well-off in society－allowing buyers and volunteers to lend a helping hand.

"Spring tea is very popular, especially when it's fresh and in season, but if it cannot be sold on time, the tea becomes stale and its value decreases sharply," Yao said.

Getting on in years, Yao can no longer afford to leave her hometown for work and needs to stay closer to home to care for her grandson. And so, she grows her own tea locally.

However, for those with less means and market access, making a profit simply by word of mouth in the local economy can be tough.

To help poorer members of the community, volunteers from Ningxiang travel around collecting their "wishes", which they then post to the government cloud platform. The platform then spreads these "wishes" further afield in hope of connecting with people who can satisfy them.

"I hope to sell all of my spring tea", was Yao's wish. And her wish was granted, with all of it selling for the peak seasonal price of 400 yuan ($60) per kg.

As of May, the cloud platform had collected 20,170 wishes, worth around 300-500 yuan each, which had all been realized, helping more than 20,000 people who are less well-off.

Li Hejun, 65, who lives in Jinfeng village of Ningxiang's Hengshi town, is another local who has had his wish fulfilled.

Li, together with three others who lived in poor conditions, has been moved into a newly-built complex equipped with running water, electricity and home appliances.

The construction and the maintenance of the complex were carried out with the help of more than 30 volunteers in Ningxiang.

"Volunteering is very meaningful and rewarding, and can help reduce labor costs on projects such as this," said Deng Xiaguang, a local volunteer.

Ningxiang encourages its residents to engage with communities and get involved in volunteering. The city has more than 200,000 active volunteers, accounting for 13 percent of the population.

Ningxiang also provides urban service stations for front-line workers and residents across the city.

The first 12 facilities have been put into service, serving as a "people's club" with the integrated functions of leisure, cultural entertainment and education services.

The facility in Xue'an community in Ningxiang also provides free medical treatment, with Peng Runzhi, a community doctor, moving her free clinic there.

"My clinic has been open for 32 years, just across the road from this facility. Now more people come to the facility, which has a better environment," Peng said.

Zhang Huiyu contributed to this story.