As the Dragon Boat Festival approaches, a neighborhood in Hangzhou turned a holiday craft session into a genuine listening exercise—proving that sometimes the best way to hear people’s concerns is to sit down and chat over a shared activity. The supervisory liaison station at Xiangshu Community in Wenyan, Xiaoshan District, put a seasonal twist on its public outreach by inviting residents to make traditional wormwood decorations together. The idea was simple: rather than waiting for residents to come forward with complaints, staff would weave conversations into the crafting process and pick up on concerns as they arose. “I love that I got to make my own wormwood bundle—it looks great and keeps away evil spirits, they say. This is such a heartwarming way to celebrate the holiday,” said one participant. As staff and residents sat together weaving colorful cords and assembling ornaments, the conversation naturally turned to community life. Suggestions and observations about the living environment, local services, and public facilities began to surface—and staff took note, promptly getting in touch with the property management team to follow up on the spot.

The scent of fresh wormwood filled the room as Ms. Zhang, while arranging her bundle, voiced a small grievance that had been bothering her. Recent fire-safety renovations in the residential compound were welcome, she said, but workers had been leaving construction materials scattered around after knocking off each day, making it inconvenient for residents to get in and out of their building entrances. The liaison staff didn’t miss a beat. They called the contractor on the spot, asking that worksites be cleared and materials properly stored at the end of each shift—“daily cleanup, daily completion,” as they put it. That same evening, staff returned to the site in person to verify that the issue had been resolved.

The event was a vivid example of how grassroots oversight can be brought directly to people’s doorsteps, blending tradition with sincere engagement. By the time the gathering wrapped up, the pathways outside the building had been restored to order. And Auntie Zhang, now carrying her freshly crafted bundle of wormwood, smiled and said, “this wormwood not only keeps mosquitoes away—it’s cleared away my worries, too.”