A special Valentine's gift for volunteers
Volunteers show off the drawings received for their work during the lockdown.
Xu Xiaodong's 520 Valentine's Day gift was an animated sketch of himself as an electrician.
During the lockdown last month in the Linyuan residential compound in Jinshan District, Xu repaired a neighbor's electricity meter. The drawing was a thank you for his community service.
"It's such a nice drawing," he said. "It will be a pleasant memory for me when I am older. I can show it to people and say I helped fight the pandemic."
Xu Xiaodong fixing "an electricity meter"
520, short for May 20, has emerged as another Valentine's Day option because it sounds similar to the Chinese phrase wo ai ni, which means "I love you." Its significance was felt more acutely by Shanghai's locked-down residents.
"This is the ideal time to express our appreciation to our volunteers," said Xu Qian, chairman of the local neighborhood committee.
There were 28 drawings in total, depicting heartwarming moments and unsung heroes sending supplies, organizing nucleic acid tests, rushing to get medications for residents, and so on.
Li Menghan and her grandmother
It was a surprise for the volunteers. They couldn't wait to pose for photos with their drawings after receiving them.
Six grader Li Menghan jumped with joy on being given the gift. She couldn't tear herself away from the picture that shows her busy sorting antigen test kits with her grandmother. "I will keep it in my treasure box," she said.
The drawings were done by Shao Feng, who's in charge of a local teenage development center. Shao himself is a volunteer.
"I just used a brush to record what I saw, heard, and experienced," he said. "We hope it can inspire people, and pass on the love."
