“Foreign Lei Feng” in Shanghai

In a book cabinet in Noyan’s office, there are rows of honorary certificates and awards, most of which are to recognize his contribution to Shanghai’s urban governance and community service. The issuing organizations include the Shanghai Drainage Management Division, Changning District Civilization Development Committee and Hongqiao Subdistrict. It is hard to imagine that a foreigner in an unrelated high job position would be so concerned with Shanghai’s urban development. However, after taking off his suit and putting on a volunteer vest, he can be seen in many areas of Shanghai, cleaning up garbage, coordinating traffic control or pointing out citizens’ uncivilized behaviors.

(Noyan and his teammates in a volunteer service center in Shanghai’s Changning District)