"We young people are full of passion and idealism, and few care about any material benefits that come with volunteer work," Li said.

"Spiritual fulfillment and self-improvement are more important for us."

Li's enthusiasm for volunteer work is part of a long tradition of helping others in the country.

In 1945, Lei Feng, a People's Liberation Army soldier famous for helping others before he died in 1962, has become a model citizen. In one instance, Lei wore the same pair of socks for years, mending them when they were worn out, to save every penny he could for flood relief efforts.

Chairman Mao Zedong himself in 1963 called upon all Chinese to "Learn from Comrade Lei Feng".

In 1993, the CCYL extended a nationwide campaign to promote volunteerism and built up the necessary networks to support volunteer work on a large scale.

There are currently about 75 million CCYL members aged from 14 to 28, half of them students and under nearly 3 million grassroots units, CCYL figures have showed.

More than 2,000 university associations and 190,000 grassroots units are now covered under the Chinese Young Volunteers Association.