Gansu province is positioning its comprehensive social governance centers into one-stop platforms for resolving disputes, streamlining public services and improving grassroots governance.

By integrating political-legal organs, industry regulators and social organizations into one workspace, the comprehensive governance center in the Chengguan district of Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, has built a unified platform covering mediation, arbitration, litigation, petition handling, legal services and legal supervision. Fifteen specialized mediation rooms target high-frequency disputes, such as property management and labor wage arrears, enabling residents to resolve conflicts "at most in one place".

"In the past, residents had to shuttle between multiple departments and levels of government," said Ju Yafang, director of the district governance center."Now people no longer need to run back and forth. Disputes can be resolved by entering one door and handled in one place at most."

Established at the end of 2023, the center received more than 15,000 visitors in 2024, up 347 percent year-on-year. It handled 5,331 dispute cases and provided 3,207 legal consultations and 422 legal aid services.

The model has been extended to the subdistrict level. Fully functional centers, including the 300-square-meter Baiyin Road facility, have been established across all 25 subdistricts in Chengguan, strengthening front-line dispute resolution.

Digital tools further enhance governance efficiency. Launched in August 2024, the "Minqing Map — Xiaolan Good Governance" platform enables residents to report disputes and request assistance online. In Gongxingdun subdistrict, when elderly residents living alone need care services, they submit requests through the "Xiaolan Bangban" mini-program. Community workers respond within one hour and provide meal assistance at home.

In Dunhuang, another city in Gansu, the work efficiency of the city's comprehensive governance center has won praise from citizens.

Last year, a Dunhuang resident surnamed Zhou sought mediation after a car he had purchased for his son was used without authorization as collateral for a debt. Zhou's son had loaned the vehicle to a business partner, who later pledged it to another individual to settle personal debts. Unable to recover the car, Zhou turned to the Dunhuang comprehensive governance center for assistance, where mediator Pan Hong immediately facilitated a negotiation. The two parties eventually reached an agreement, and the car was returned to Zhou.

"The matter was resolved quickly on the spot," Zhou said, adding that the governance center's proximity to his home made the process convenient.

To serve the pillar tourism industry of Dunhuang, the city's comprehensive governance center set up a dedicated cultural and tourism mediation service center in 2025. The center is staffed jointly by officials from the culture and tourism, market supervision and transport departments under a rotating mechanism.

"We have built a multicenter integrated, one-stop and full-chain dispute resolution system," said Wang Lei, director of the city's governance center."Focusing on the characteristics of a cultural tourism city, we set up specialized windows so that disputes related to food, lodging, travel, shopping and entertainment can be resolved on the spot."

Yang Xinwen, an official with the city's cultural market law enforcement team, said visitors can either file complaints through the 12345 government service hotline or report issues directly at the mediation center.

According to the center, a dispute in 2025 between a tourist from Henan province and a taxi driver from Qinghai province over return trip fees was settled within three hours with the center's assistance. The mediation center activated a joint mechanism involving public security, transport and culture and tourism departments. Transport officials verified the rental contract, police officers secured evidence, and mediators facilitated negotiations. The two sides finally reached an agreement to settle the outbound fare first and pay the remaining balance after the return trip.

"When tourists raise concerns during travel services or travel photography activities, we intervene at the earliest stage to resolve disputes," said Xie Jiangang, deputy head of the city's cultural market law enforcement team. "During peak season, we remain on duty from 7:30 am until 1 am the next day to respond promptly and minimize potential risks."

Ye Chang'an, director of the Dunhuang bureau of culture and tourism, said: "Relying on the cultural tourism mediation center, rapid cross-department response has become the norm. We maintain a zero-tolerance stance toward violations in the tourism market and continue to strengthen oversight of travel photography, accommodation and camping sites, while publicly exposing illegal practices to safeguard tourists' rights and ensure a positive travel experience."

Contact the writers at huyumeng@chinadaily.com.cn