Xiangyang Nanzhang County Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese's "One-Stop Service" Warms Overseas Chinese Hearts; Three Generations of Singaporean Overseas Chinese Embark on Qingming Festival to Tracing Their Roots
On the eve of Qingming Festival, Singaporean overseas Chinese Ms. Zhang Yule, her husband, and their three children, secured visa-free entry through Wuhan Tianhe Airport and drove 200 kilometers back to their ancestral home in Jiuji Town, Nanzhang County, Xiangyang, to visit and pay respects to their ancestors. Huang Lili, Chairperson of the Nanzhang County Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, met at the village entrance, presenting them with a "Guide to Overseas Chinese Returning Home," flowers, and a "Overseas Chinese Gift Pack." They also organized a "Overseas Chinese Visit Nanzhang" rural tour. "My grandfather went to Southeast Asia when he was young. When he returned this time, he saw the newly built cultural hall at the entrance of the village, which was built with his remittances. The children were deeply moved to experience the place where their grandparents lived for the first time," said Zhang Yule. To meet the concentrated demand of overseas Chinese returning home, Xiangyang City launched a "one-stop" service for the first time this year: With a passport or Home Return Permit, guests can enjoy a free shuttle bus from Xiangyang East Station to 11 counties (cities, and districts); hotels in the central city area can enjoy "Overseas Chinese Family Rates"; and the city and county-level Federations of Overseas Chinese have set up 24-hour hotlines, providing services such as notarization, household registration, and real estate registration.
According to statistics, during the 2025 Qingming Festival holiday, Xiangyang's ports received over 8,600 overseas Chinese tourists visiting their families, a year-on-year increase of 75%, and overseas Chinese remittances donated to public welfare projects exceeding 12 million yuan. Nanzhang County has even upgraded the "Overseas Chinese Visit Nanzhang" program to a regular year-round program, planning to invite 100 children of overseas Chinese to return home for summer study and research, sharing stories of their hometown with the world through both online and offline activities.