The 31-year-old Wang Ruonan is a homestay housekeeper near the Panshan scenic spot in Jizhou District of north China’s Tianjin. In 2022, Wang gave up her job as a salesperson in the city and returned to her hometown working as a homestay housekeeper. It was the year when the updated version of China’s official reference book on occupations recognized homestay housekeepers as a new occupation. Wang saw that homestay housekeepers would constitute a growing workforce, especially among young people.
Being a homestay housekeeper needs to be thoughtful and helpful as housekeepers contact with guests directly. Their meticulous services help guests feel at home. Usually the daily routine of Wang involves checking the arrival time of guests, coordinating catering service with chefs and helping guests select traditional costumes for photo taking.
Wang Ruonan (R) recommends traditional attire to a guest at a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin, May 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)Wang Ruonan (2nd R) helps carry the luggage at a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin, May 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)Wang Ruonan (R) talks with her colleague at a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin, May 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)Wang Ruonan (R) talks to a guest at a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin, May 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)Wang Ruonan asks about the dinner time of a guest at a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin, May 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)Wang Ruonan (R) introduces the unique features of the homestay to visiting peers at a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin, May 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)Wang Ruonan (R) talks with a staff member at a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin, May 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)This photo taken on May 9, 2025 shows a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)Wang Ruonan (R) introduces the sightseeing route to a guest at a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin, May 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)Wang Ruonan (R) waves goodbye to guests at a themed homestay for traditional costume photography in Jizhou District, north China’s Tianjin, May 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance,
a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went
back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016,
working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
