As the Laba Festival approaches, Shangri-La’s Sanya Resort & Spa, Hainan once again played host to another charitable extravaganza: the 3^rd Jack Ma Rural Teacher Initiative cum Award Ceremony. After working with the Initiative in 2016 and 2017, Shangri-La’s Sanya Resort & Spa, Hainan is the official partner of the award ceremony for the third consecutive year. The hotel welcomed over a hundred respected teachers from different rural areas of the country and special guests, and provided full reception service for the award ceremony.

On 20 January, the hotel staff worked extra hard to prepare a special welcome for the day’s special guests — 100 Jack Ma Rural Teacher Initiative Award recipients and 50 headmasters. Head housekeeper Betty and her team worked till midnight the day before to arrange the rooms, the catering service delivered seasonal tropical fruits and dessert, and the recreation team and hotel mascot Loo Hoo prepared a special Hainanese performance to kick start a refreshing tropical island experience for the teachers. The concierge team was ready at the lobby right from the start to greet the teachers with sweet welcome drinks, garlands and their sincere smiles. Together with the concierge team was a special service team from different parts of the country, volunteers with a special mission that the hotel gathered for this charitable extravaganza.

The 100 award-winning teachers came from 27 different provinces, cities and autonomous regions, including Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Tibet, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Shaanxi and Gansu. They were from rural areas and were involved in front-line teaching positions. Some of them grew up in the cities but sacrificed their urban lifestyles to help educate children in rural villages. There were also some who excelled and moved out of the villages, only to return to the home to change the fate of the children in the villages through education. Some of the teachers ignored objections from their family members and spent their savings to organize classes to help underprivileged children complete their studies.

Many of the teachers were visiting Hainan for the first time. This is their first encounter with the blue sea. The hotel specially recruited volunteers from the same provinces, cities and autonomous regions as the teachers to communicate with them in dialects and introduce the hotel’s facilities. The passion from the volunteers eliminated the teachers’ sense of distance and allowed them to feel right at home with Shangri-La’s signature hospitality.

The award ceremony was held at the hotel’s outdoor field on the night of 21 January. Mr. Jack Ma, founder of the Jack Ma Foundation, along with celebrity guests, led provincial teacher representatives on the red carpet. Young singer Bai Ruoxi sang a song titled “Tongli (Peaches and Plums)” to express her respect for the rural teachers. The song was written by renowned musician Gao Xiaosong for the Jack Ma Rural Teacher Initiative Award Ceremony. Representatives from Shangri-La’s Sanya Resort & Spa, Hainan were on stage during the performance to show their gratitude towards the teachers with passionate Hainanese dance steps. The award ceremony was also attended by renowned hosts Wang Han and Patty Hou, renowned actors and actresses Sun Li, Tony Leung, Kenny Bee and Jet Li, renowned singer Tan Weiwei, celebrity comedian Song Xiaobao, young singer Tracy Wang and renowned artist Pan Gongkai.

For catering, the hotel’s chefs used seasonal island fruits, special Hainanese vegetables and a wide array of seafood to present a gastronomic experience rich in local flavors. In addition, considering the dietary habits and preferences of the teachers, a few classic dishes from the teachers’ hometown were also available at their tables.

As the Jack Ma Rural Teacher Initiative Award in Sanya drew to a close, the service crew from Shangri-La’s Sanya Resort & Spa, Hainan joined the teachers in an outdoor campfire. The volunteers chatted with the teachers and sang and danced with them. With the campfire lighting up the coastal night, the recreation team presented the teachers with small local gifts made with coconut fiber.  

To wrap up the eventful night, the chefs cooked Laba congee for everyone to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year in advance like a family.

The successful running of the Jack Ma Rural Teacher Initiative Award Ceremony for the third consecutive year showed once again Shangri-La’s Sanya Resort & Spa, Hainan’s capability in hosting large-scale conferences and events. The hotel has an outdoor field of over 9,600 square meters, a 1,500-square meter columnless ballroom, 10 multifunction rooms, comfortable guest rooms, modern facilities and a professional and agile service team that can provide thoughtful services and customized solutions for different guests.

“We are very honored to be the official hotel partner of Jack Ma Rural Teacher Initiative Award Ceremony for the third consecutive year,” Mr. Rudolf Gimmi, General Manager of Shangri-La’s Sanya Resort & Spa, Hainan, said. “The running of this event has great significance for me and the hotel’s service crew. Our staff treasure such a valuable experience very much. We were able to get closer to these respectable teachers to understand their touching stories and learn about their contributions and sacrifices. In return, we were able to give them Shangri-La’s signature hospitality and care. Since opening its doors, Shangri-La’s Sanya Resort & Spa, Hainan is committed to helping communities and contributing to charitable events. We also place great emphasis on the nurturing a sense of social responsibility in our staff. At the same time, we also pay attention to environmental protection and saving resources. The hotel has established a long-term partnership with Hainan Bawangling National Nature Reserve, and regularly gathers volunteers to clean up natural resources and improve the habitat of the endangered black crested gibbon. The hotel has created a learning center where guests can learn more about the black crested gibbons’ habitat and develop stronger environmental awareness. In addition, hotel mascot Loo Hoo, which is modelled after a Hainanese black crested gibbon, can be found in every corner of the hotel to interact with guests and help them learn more about the environment. In the area of education, the hotel has initiated a long-term support program at Bincun Primary School at Begonia Bay, which sees the hotel sponsor the school’s building improvement projects and introduction of modern facilities. The hotel also ensure that the students have proper learning and living environments by providing them with nutritional meals and organizing cultural activities for them.” 

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently operates over 100 hotels with a room inventory of over 41,000.  Shangri-La hotels are five-star deluxe properties featuring extensive luxury facilities and services.  Shangri-La hotels are located in Australia, Canada, mainland China, Fiji, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.  The group has a substantial development pipeline with upcoming projects in Australia, mainland China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. For more information, please visit www.shangri-la.com.

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Address: No. 88 North Hai Tang Road, Sanya, Hainan, 572000, China

Website: http://www.shangri-la.com/cn/sanya/shangrilasanya/?wt.mc_id=slhn_pressrelease 

Phone: 0898 8875 8888