Shanghai community chief gives high priority to residents' issues

Zhu Guoping has worked as a residential community head in Shanghai for 26 years. The 40-year-old community with its rows of six-story walk-ups appears on the surface to be no different from countless others like it that make up much of the city's living spaces.

But what makes it unique is that most residents have lived in the Hongchu community in Changning district on Hongqiao Road for decades and are unwilling to move elsewhere owing to its pleasing environment and the harmonious relations among neighbors. Even though its housing price per square meter is several hundred yuan higher than neighboring options, residents are enamored with the place.

The residents attribute much of this to Zhu, who describes herself as a security guard "looking after people's peaceful and happy lives".