The Social Network

By+Ding+Ying

‘Free pies wont fall from the sky，” holds a popular Chinese idiom， similar to saying that “theres no such thing as a free lunch” in the West. While it wont be raining pastries any time soon， young people living in Beijing may enjoy free lunches and a lot more by joining a community youth club in their neighborhood.

Community youth clubs are communitybased organizations first created by the China Communist Youth League Beijing Committee（CCYLBC）， the municipal branch of Chinas leading youth organization， in 2010. They operate in communities with large numbers of young professionals and residents， so as to help guide them toward enjoying an active and healthy lifestyle.

By 2013， the CCYLBC had set up 350 clubs in 16 districts and counties in Beijing. By the end of this year， it plans to have a total of 500 built. According to the committees long-term plan， Beijing will have 1，000 community youth clubs， so that every 10，000 youths will have access to at least one in their neighborhood.

Joining the club

Since May， Liu Yanfei， a 27-year-old social worker at the Jimenxinyu Community Youth Club in Beijings Haidian District， has started to receive applications for joining the clubs free adult college entrance examination tutorial classes. This annual exam， for those who did not pass the national college entrance examination but wish to enter tertiary education part-time， will be held in late October this year.

“We have recently been busy preparing for this free and well-received program and accepting applications online and by phone，”Liu told Beijing Review. “There are few requirements to join a community youth club. If you are between age 18 and 35， you can participate in all our activities at no expense after signing up in advance.”

The tutorial class is just one of many activities organized by Beijings community youth clubs. According to the latest census， Beijings population reached 21.15 million in 2013， and serving the now millions of young professionals in this city is an important task. These youth organizations provide both educational and social activities for this demographic within “a fun club and a trustworthy friend circle，” so as to widen young peoples substantive relationships.

The clubs have attracted many young people from all walks of life—permanent residents， young migrant workers， tourists visiting the city， and senior citizens—because all activities in the clubs are free. Participants can enjoy a free lunch before taking on a relaxing subject， like practicing calligraphy or musical instruments， doing yoga， and belly dancing， or they can challenge themselves by taking classes and attending the lectures of visiting scholars.endprint

“Our activities are open to all young people who apply to join our club， whether they are permanent or temporary residents， in or outside our community，” said Liu， the social worker. She added that in the Jimenxinyu Community Youth Club， more participants are part of the citys floating population than permanent residents. “This is an old neighborhood， built in the 1980s and 1990s. Most residents are over 35 years old. But we have a huge wholesale market nearby， where tens of thousands of young business people from all over the country gather，” Liu said.

Last year， the number of migrant workers in Beijing reached over 8 million， the majority of whom are young people. Community youth clubs have helped not only enhance the cohesive relationships between these youths， but improve their feelings of acceptance， identity， and participation in the city.

“Many of the people applying for our tutorial classes for the adult college entrance exam this year are from other districts of Beijing， but come to Jimenxinyu thanks to the high quality of our classes，” said Liu， explaining that in 2013， out of 28 young people that joined the clubs exam tutorial classes， 27 passed. “Such a high pass rate attracted more applicants this year，”she said. The club will provide 39 tutorial classes for this years adult college entrance exam from July 21 to mid-October.

Hosting such classes， however， requires money. Generally， a community youth clubs funds come from two sources： government aid and club fundraisers. A clubs staff usually includes a director general， full-time social workers， and volunteers. Director generals of all community youth clubs are trained by the CCYLBC， while social workers are recruited for employment. Liu， who is originally from Changzhi， in north Chinas Shanxi Province， became an accredited social worker last July. She and her colleagues finished recruiting volunteers in late June of this year.

“Volunteers at our club are mostly college students living in the neighborhood. There are several prestigious universities nearby， which is a great advantage for us，” said Liu. “The recent volunteer team for our tutorial classes is from the China University of Mining and Technology.”

Flourishing activities

Activities at these youth clubs include both regular and theme projects. Regular projects concentrate on training， integrating into city life， socializing and entertainment， volunteer services， artistic and cultural programs， sports， and activities for public benefit.endprint

One notable example of the former took place in December 2013， when all 350 community youth clubs in Beijing collected spare winter clothes for people in poor and remote rural areas of China. Initiated by the CCYLBC， the clubs gathered a total of 98，488 winter clothing items. Before that， in the summer of 2013， 34 clubs hosted artistic and cultural programs for more than 1，000 adolescents in their neighborhoods， encouraging them to take an active interest in Chinas traditional culture.

As for theme projects， each club hosts its own in accordance with the character of its neighborhood.

For example， Huilongguan is a large residential area with over 600，000 residents， many of them young professionals. The communitys youth club has built 14 function rooms including a gym， a billiards room， a board game room， and a movie room specially for this demographic. While the FIFA World Cup took place in Brazil in June and July， the club even created a World Cup room and provided food on the weekends so as to help young people make friends while watching soccer games.

In the Shangdi Science Park area， the youth club organized a regular computer class for local residents. Many retired citizens in the neighborhood have since learned how to use Internet chat tools and socialize online.

At the invitation of the Jimenxinyu Community Youth Club and the Beijing Normal University last October， Shi Fumao， a committee member of the All China Lawyers Association， held a special legal lecture for rural migrant workers living in the city. More than 60 such workers attended the lecture. “What will you do if your boss refuses to pay your salary or delays pay？” Shi had asked the crowd. “When your legal rights are violated， you need a lawful and just way to solve the problem.”

Liu told Beijing Review that the legal lecture was one of the clubs cooperative projects with the Beijing Normal University. “This was a very good project for our community youth club. It was practical and popular among migrant workers，” she said， adding that many rural laborers have consulted the club for legal advice.

“Some of our volunteers are college students living in the neighborhood， students at universities like the Capital Institute of Physical Education， Beijing Normal University and the China University of Political Science and Law，”said Liu. “This is a great help for our club in conducting better projects while still cutting costs.”

According to Liu， the club has an annual budget of 20，000 yuan （$3，220）. However， with the added support of the government， local community service centers， residents committees， public cultural and sports facilities， and nearby schools and colleges， the club actually can accomplish far more than the budget allows， she said.

Every club is required to conduct at least 48 group activities every year， and each activity must include over 20 participants. In addition， each club should provide face-to-face service to and communication with at least 1，000 young people， eventually establishing a base membership of 300 or more.

Most community youth clubs， however， host far more than the required 48 activities every year and work hard to attract as many members as possible. “For example， our club organizes a hike every week to encourage an environmentally friendly lifestyle， and it sometimes has over 100 participants，” said Liu.

“We are very happy to help young people to enrich their lives，” Liu said. “And we also learn from these projects ourselves.”endprint