Lily Wong, the founder of Shanghai Greeters, grew up in Taiwan and now works in Shanghai. When she was a college student in 2005, she visited New York and was shown around the city by a greeter.

Working as a corporate English trainer, she wanted to provide a suitable platform for students to make foreign friends and practice the language, and she remembered the warmth and friendliness of her New York greeter and decided to establish the first greeters group in China.

Now, Shanghai Greeters has 90 members mostly in their 20s or 30s, including students and office workers.

Lu Zhihui has just become a greeter. She says she was too excited to sleep the night before her first assignment, which was guiding an American family around Qibao Old Street and the Bund.

She says she is honored to show foreigners around her city, but says her ability sometimes falls short of expectations.