Cao Yuanyuan lives up to her words and starts volunteering in her hometown in Nanxiang, Jiading, April 15. [Photo provided by Cao Yuanyuan/jiading.gov.cn]

Cao Yuanyuan, who won thousands of likes for posting a video online that recorded her journey back from the United Kingdom to China and expressed her respect for the inspection officers, lived up to her words and started a 14-day volunteering stint in her hometown in Nanxiang, Jiading, April 15.

She returned home on March 16 and showed no symptom of COVID-19, and also tested negative for nucleic acid.

"I really appreciated having the opportunity to share the love and care I have received from inspection officers and volunteers," Cao said.

She was also moved and enlightened by the phrase "closed-loop management for epidemic prevention and control", as it was the meticulous dedication of numerous medical workers, grassroots officers and volunteers who had formed the solid loop.

"I'm now also a part of the loop," Cao said.

Cao is a student at the University of the Arts London. She faced a difficult choice as her school suspended classes due to the COVID-19 outbreak and her family insisted on her coming back to China.

The young woman bought tickets for two flights on March 16 and boarded a trip which took her 26 hours with a transfer in Singapore. She landed in Shanghai at midnight and was soon touched by the inspection workers, though very exhausted themselves, who kept asking her if the trip was ok and whether she needed anything else.

In her two-minute vlog recording her trip back home and the people she had met, Cao burst into tears over receiving such meticulous care.

Her video climbed onto the trending list of Weibo, the Chinese social media platform, and what she said resonated with many: "I feel that everyone is contributing to this country… I really feel proud to be Chinese."