Zhang Jun, the Chinese teacher who cleans the streets of Rome with chopsticks

A Chinese man in Rome. A very special character: open, cheerful, integrated into the local community. And ready to teach everyone about... civic sense and how each of us can do something concrete, every day, for our own city.

CIVIC SENSE OF CITIZENS

zhang jun He is 35 years old, arrived in the capital in 2017 and has been working as a Chinese teacher at the 'Confucius Institute of La Sapienza University. One of the institutions with which the Chinese combine economic and geopolitical advancement with cultural advancement worldwide.

Unlike many of his compatriots, and perhaps also thanks to his teaching profile, Zhang does not live closed off in the Chinatown, associating only with men and women who come from his country. He considers himself a Roman by adoption, in all respects. And he wanted to do something very significant for his community and for the city itself. So a couple of times a week, the Confucius teacher, armed with chopsticks, the same ones used at the Chinese table, he goes around the city's neighborhoods and collects some waste, small but very harmful. Shards, cans, and plastic debris. And first and foremost cigarette butts, those deadly cigarette butts that pollute the capital everywhere.

ALSO READ: Retake Roma, the volunteers who have been cleaning up the city's neighborhoods for ten years.

THE STORY OF ZHANG JUN

"I volunteer because I consider the filth I see around me an insult to the city that hosts me," explains Zhang Jun, almost as if sending a message to his fellow citizens. He adds: "We all owe a debt to Rome, and we can honor it by making a small contribution to urban decorum." Best wishes, Zhang, and we hope that other Chinese, and perhaps even other Roman citizens, will follow your example.

Photo credit cover image: La Repubblica

CITIZENS WHO CARE ABOUT OUR CITIES:

• Giuseppe, the Venetian retiree, champion of civic duty. Every morning he cleans the place he loves.
• Self-organized citizens are now also repairing fountains and stairways. Volunteers are now providing emergency assistance: they arrive with brooms, pliers, and paintbrushes... (photo)
• Anna Kowalska, the Polish teacher who single-handedly cleans Cagliari's beaches. And on social media, she invites the internet to do the same (photos and video).