Visitors to the Shanghai Expo next year can enjoy a special treat and one that few get to experience. Some of the city's senior residents will invite visitors from overseas to their homes to give them a taste of life here. Yang Jian looks along the longtang (alleyway).

Shanghai's downtown Jing'an Temple Subdistrict in Jing'an District has selected 35 ordinary Shanghainese volunteer families to welcome foreign Expo visitors. Most of the families are retired people aged about 65. During the Expo from May 1 next year, the seniors will invite foreign visitors to their homes to let them experience Shanghai life. These families will be natural "pavilions" outside the Expo site, directly showcasing Shanghai culture.

According to the community's "Expo family" plan, foreign guests will be invited to one of these homes in the morning. The hosts will take them to nearby Jing'an Park for their morning exercises and then to the market for food. Then they will cook and have lunch together.

In the afternoon, they will teach the guests how to make dumplings and speak Shanghai dialect. They will also take them to watch Shanghai's longtang games, such as hoop rolling and shuttlecock kicking.

Young local volunteers, most high school students, will act as interpreters.

It will cost foreign visitors RMB 100 (US$14.62) to stay with a family for one day, RMB 30 if they just want to have tea with their hosts, and RMB 20 for a tour of lanes and historic houses. Individuals and groups can book by telephone.

From: eastday

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