Learning through service

For volunteer Zhang Yuxin, the experience was as much about learning as it was about serving. Visitors often asked questions that went beyond the official scripts, prompting her to do extra research in her spare time.

"I feel like I'm representing the image of BFSU — and more broadly, the image of Chinese youth — so I really want to give it my best," she said.

The experience also brought moments of unexpected emotional depth.

Volunteer Huang Yutong remembered guiding a Japanese professor who had come specifically to see the lunar soil samples on display. He studied the specimens — brought back from both the near and far sides of the moon — with intense focus. Moved by what he saw, he told Huang he would gladly line up again just to view them a second time.

That encounter stayed with Huang. "After giving so many tours, the work can start to feel repetitive," she said. "But seeing someone's raw emotion reminded me why it mattered. It made me feel that my role truly meant something."

Zhang Jingyuan echoed that sentiment. For her, volunteering at the Expo was unlike any previous experience.

"It's such a grand event," she said. "It gave me the chance to interact with people from all over the world and help them experience a more authentic side of China."