Shenzhen has been given many nicknames: city of migrants, city of high tech, city of parks, city of design… With the passage of time, the list of the city's titles is growing even longer. Behind these glittering titles are people, people like you and me, people who find their value in their work, people who have stories to tell. This special Web page, entitled “Shenzhen Faces,” is for them and for you. Here you can read their stories, and you are also invited to tell us yours (contact us by email at eyeshenzhen@163.com). Share your stories with people you may never personally meet, and you might be surprised how even simple stories can help change people’s lives for the better.
How do hearing-impaired people wake up with an alarm clock? How do they use sign language to express love in a relationship? Deng Zhenlian's short videos posted on Douyin, or the Chinese version of TikTok, have garnered hundreds of thousands of likes.
Zheng Rui, despite being visually impaired, regards himself as a builder of "tactile paving" on the internet, helping people in need to reach intelligent devices and access information easier.
Jin Zhihu, who suffered hearing loss due to a high fever caused by mycoplasma pneumonia when he was 10, is now seeking to return the favor to society by developing a smart mask that stands a chance to help China break foreign monopoly in the field.
At the reporters's first sight of Gan Nianrong, she was still concentrating on polishing her paintings. However, if you simply consider her as a painter, then you're wrong. Gan has an extensive volunteer experience and she wholeheartedly puts much passion into cat-related affairs.
Officially established in September 2016 under the approval of Shekou Subdistrict Social Organization Service Center, the Wanxia Handicraft Volunteer Team in Shekou's Haichang Community has 30 members, who are all senior women with an average age of around 67 years old.
Some people may open a bakery to turn their passion into their profession. For Zheng Xiaoyan, founder of Silent Bread Tree, the main reason she chose to do so is a less common one: she wants to provide job opportunities for the silent people, for people who are hearing and speech-impaired.
Wei Xiaohe started writing book reviews on his account from 2013, which is the year the social-networking providing a channel for individuals to express themselves. Now Wei has become a published writer of five books with over 1.5 million followers on Sina Weibo.
During Lai Huiqin's 20 years working in the community, she received over 130 thank-you pennants from residents for having helped to avoid major petitions and criminal cases. In 2020, the Ministry of Justice awarded Lai the title of "National Model People's Mediator."
Audiobook narrator, music arranger, piano tuner, exhibition tour guide, instructor...Though being both visually impaired, Li Chunmeng and Lin Miaoyan have continued to advance their careers in Shenzhen through hard work and a shared passion for spoken language and musical instruments.
Wong Woon-li, a Malaysian expat also known as Joey, became very popular in Shenzhen's social media in March when she served as an international volunteer and used her language skills in Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Bahasa, English, German and French to help others take nucleic acid tests.
In Shekou's expat community, Yang Yan is more affectionately called Rita Yang and widely known as Super Rita. She leads a team of 12 international social workers in Shekou and they work together to turn the area into a second home for nearly 8,000 expats from over 100 countries.