As a social worker at a community center in Hengqin, a special cooperation zone connected to Macao by a short bridge, Liang Lidan spends her days checking in on elderly residents, listening to suggestions over lunch, and helping newly arrived families navigate healthcare and school enrollment.
Liang moved to Hengqin in 2021, when the area was still under development. By May 2025, she had started working in Lianhua Community, a neighborhood with more than 20,000 residents, approximately one in three of whom is from Macao.
As more families have settled in, Liang's role has shifted from building the community to holding it together.
From strangers to neighbors
For newcomers, settling into a new place often comes down to practical questions. Liang and her colleagues help residents navigate such everyday concerns. In addition, they regularly visit older residents who live alone or have difficulty going out, not simply to offer assistance but to build lasting connections.
Building trust takes time, so Liang starts with a greeting, a brief chat, or remembering something mentioned in an earlier conversation. Over time, residents come to know her, and to trust her with what is really on their minds about the community.
One Macao retiree, Auntie Guan, knew almost no one after moving to Hengqin. Through community activities organized by Liang and her colleagues, she made friends and now volunteers in the Cantonese classes. For Liang, this shows Macao residents are not just service recipients but active members of the community. "We are all part of this community. We all want to make it a better place," Liang said.
Making everyday concerns count
Lianhua Community is home to people from different places and backgrounds. Liang said even a lunch can reveal very different preferences. Some residents prefer softer rice. Others would like a wider variety of staple foods.
For Liang, none of these concerns is too small to note. Liang and her colleagues collect residents' feedback and bring recurring issues to community meetings. Residents discuss them one by one and use small red-flower stickers to vote on which matters should be addressed first.
A parent once told Liang that a gap in the pedestrian route to school forced children to walk where vehicles passed. Liang visited the site, reported it to the relevant departments and followed up. The route was later improved by separating the cycle lane from traffic and installing bollards.
For Liang, experiences like this have broadened her understanding of what social work can do. "People may think social workers focus more on providing social services," she said. "But here in Hengqin, the government is very open to hearing about the challenges and issues we identify in our everyday work, and the relevant departments coordinate to address them."
In this sense, she acts as a bridge between residents and the relevant government departments.
Because Macao residents lead cross-border lives, everyday issues can involve different systems. Liang's team looks beyond individual cases and compiles recurring concerns into reports for the relevant authorities.
"Hengqin has made me realize how much social workers can do, especially when it comes to policy engagement," Liang said.
"I already see myself as a Hengqin local."
While Liang helps others take root in Hengqin, residents have also helped her find her own place here. Her improving Cantonese is one visible sign.
When she first arrived, she could understand Cantonese but was hesitant to speak. Chatting with residents and joining language sessions have made her far more confident.
When she was a child, Liang read the Peach Blossom Spring, a classic Chinese tale of an idyllic community. Back then, she imagined such a place to be orderly and harmonious. For her, Hengqin is gradually turning that ideal into reality.
Liang did not expect to stay in Hengqin for so long when she first moved here five years ago. "I've built close connections with the people and with this place," she said. "I already see myself as a Hengqin local."
Source | Nanfang News Network