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The neighborhood committee

The neighborhood committee is a grassroot mass organization in China. There are usually many retired residents who volunteer to serve their neighbors. With the help of local governments, the committees take care of almost every aspect of the residents' daily life such as birth control, security and hygiene. The committee is an autonomous organization of residents, which carries out self-management and self-service. Its main purpose is to help local residents, especially the disabled and elderly. Beijing now has hundreds of such committees.

The neighborhood committee solves problems in daily life for residents. It helps people to take care of their children's lunch or pick them up after school.

Wanfuge (Ten-Thousand-Happiness Pavilion) is the largest pavilion in the temple. In the center of the pavilion is a huge standing statue of Maitreya, Buddha of the Future, carved out of a single trunk of white sandalwood tree presented by the Seventh Dalai Lama. It is 26 meters high, 18 meters above the ground and 8 meters under the ground, and 8 meters in diameter. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Maitreya is the tallest and biggest in the world today. Behind the Great Buddha, there are ten thousand small Buddhist statues on three storeys, hence the name, Ten-Thousand-Happiness Pavilion.

The neighborhood committee also helps people live a colorful life. It organizes visits to parks and hold chess, cards and Mahjong contests for elder people. It provides them with a place for regular entertainment.

Some neighborhood committees may also run small nurseries and homes for the old people. In addition, the neighborhood committee is also in charge of the security of the community.

In general, the neighborhood committee is something uniquely Chinese. It started early, functions well now, and is about to stay for a long time in the future.

 

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