Zhang Junping

Zhang Junping, a community official with 20 years of experience, took on her role at Shanghai Kangcheng, the largest apartment complex in Shanghai, 13 years ago.

Through her unwavering dedication and the leadership team's efforts at the residential compound, the community, which accommodates 280 residential buildings and around 40,000 residents, has thrived as a place where inhabitants can quickly come together to work for a common goal.

This compares to the fact that around a decade ago, the apartment complex troubled by illegal group housing rental, residential apartments renovated for commercial use, and other problems, was dubbed by local media as "the most chaotic neighborhood in town". In 2015 alone, 185 burglaries took place at the residential compound.

"During my early days working here, I met a resident who drove to work. The middle-aged hid the community parking permit away immediately after leaving the gate of the residential compound. He said he'd feel embarrassed if others knew he lived in this community. I felt sad, and was determined to make some changes," said Zhang, 48, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee for the third year, and deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China committee of the Kangcheng neighborhood.

"Today, even my family and I would love to live here," she said, adding that residents' diverse needs, including shopping, medical care, and children's education, can be met without the need to leave the community. The quality of service has been improving to respond to people's constant pursuit for a better life.

One of the reasons for the changes taking place at the community, which was established in around the year 2000, was that the community leadership team has been open-minded in listening to residents' requirements and advice on improving their daily lives, said Zhang.

She said that the Party organization is at the grassroots level and never rejects residents' suggestions.

For example, residents demanded charging facilities for their non-motor vehicles. The residential complex has nearly 10,000 such vehicles, and the insufficiency forced some residents to risk installing additional wires themselves, causing potential safety hazards.

Last year, with resolute determination and full-scale actions, all 40 parking lots for non-motor vehicles underwent renovation, providing residents with enough parking space and safe and adequate charging facilities. Firefighting facilities were added as well.

"While Shanghai's efforts to build a safe and resilient city are quickly gathering pace, at the community level, safety is the bottom line and foundation of our work. Also, we must respond to the needs of the residents and gradually build mutual trust with them," Zhang said.

Another reason for the changes was that Zhang and her team tried to mobilize as many residents as possible to participate in various aspects of neighborhood governance, which is to put the concept of building urban governance community at the grassroots level, she said.

"Community governance not only depends on the Party organization and residents who are Party members. We should invite more residents to join in. The more they participate, the more they will feel this is relevant to themselves," said Zhang, adding that daily situations, like differing opinions among neighbors regarding pet ownership, necessitate collective wisdom from more residents to devise improved solutions.

In 2023, 108 middle-aged and young residents from diverse professional fields, including property management, construction and engineering project management, finance, and law, became the first batch of "partners to build a better community" at the residential compound. By integrating their expertise and good ideas for neighborhood development, the quality of residents' lives kept escalating, said Zhang.

For example, in addition to the initial two bus routes linking the neighborhood to a nearby metro station, a new bus route has been introduced to connect Kangcheng to Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. This improvement offers residents convenient transportation choices.

The concept of a "15-minute living circle" that meets residents' basic needs for shopping and leisure was proposed in Shanghai in 2014. In the Kangcheng neighborhood, residents could also feel that life is becoming increasingly easier, so their living circle has been constantly expanded.

Currently, the residential compound includes two kindergartens, a nine-year school planned from the beginning, and a nursing home for the elderly. The health center has also been expanded to a 2,000-square-meter community health service center.

"In this way, the facility not only meets our needs to replenish medications regularly, but also is equipped with departments of general medicine, dentistry, and traditional Chinese medicine. They are widely welcomed by residents," said Zheng Junwei, a 71-year-old resident in the neighborhood.

Furthermore, the number of grocery stores, food markets, barber shops, and bank outlets within the residential compound has been growing, enhancing the convenience of residents' daily lives, he said.

Zhang emphasized that her primary focus in the upcoming year will be implementing additional measures to alleviate residents' parking challenges and promoting service to meet the personalized needs of elderly care.

"For a resident, if he or she drives home after work and fails to find a parking space, this may harm their sense of belonging to the community," Zhang said.

"However, if we want to adjust the spatial layout of some parts of the compound to free up parking spaces, we need all the residents to find an optimal solution based on the mentality of seeking common ground and working toward a shared better life. This is a great test for us to build an exchange platform and find a good way for negotiations."

Regarding elderly care, Zhang noted a growing awareness of the diverse needs of senior residents, including requirements for rehabilitation, physiotherapy, in-home night care, hospital escort services, and healthcare utilizing TCM practices. "Some also proposed needs for consultation regarding planning after retirement, and some others were interested in holding a birthday party while gathering their elderly friends together," she said.

Zhang said she would work with relevant government departments to promote work in this area. Residents may be provided with a name list of professional institutions and caregivers endorsed and supervised by the government to provide corresponding services based on personalized needs.