Dong Yuanbing, a former soldier who owns a billiards hall in Guangzhou's Haizhu district, has been providing temporary shelter for people who are unable to return to their homes due to the area's current COVID-19 prevention and control measures. 

Dong Yuanbing. [Photo/Yangcheng Evening News]

Dong said, "I was in Foshan when the local Haizhu community officials told me about their need to provide shelter to people who were unable to return to their homes due to current COVID-19 situation and I immediately agreed to help."

When he returned to Haizhu district's COVID-19 prevention checkpoint, he was told by traffic police that he would not be able to exit the area once he entered, which Dong agreed to.

Dong's billiards hall provides shelter to people who are temporarily unable to return to their homes due to Haizhu's COVID-19 prevention and control measures. [Photo/Yangcheng Evening News]

Dong's billiards hall reopened on Nov 13 and now temporarily houses about 130 people who have been released from centralized quarantine or who have finished recovering at Fangcai Hospital. Among them, there are about 80 people that local community officials contacted Dong about and about 50 people that Dong himself contacted through online channels.

For these people who are experiencing difficulties, Dong's billiards hall has been a good place for them as it has a bright environment, clean carpets, as well as comfortable seats. Dong also uses a projector to play movies for them, so that everyone can relax and be entertained.