In late October, a popular tourist spot in Jinan, Shandong province initiated a program to clean and sort coins tossed away by visitors to the area.

Initially, a traditional coin-counting machine was used, but it proved impractical due to a daily count limit and degradation of the coins — many of which had long been exposed to the elements. Then Qilu Bank came up with a solution.

After appraising the situation, the bank developed a plan and drew dozens of staff from various branches to form a coin-counting team, which subsequently assigned around six members to count coins daily at the scenic area.

In addition to piles of circulating currency, the Qilu Bank employees found hundreds of blessing coins. After all the coins were collected, the workers separated the damaged ones, categorized them by denomination and packed them up.

After working in an isolated office for 10 days, the team sorted out 88,200 one-jiao coins and 1,000 five-jiao coins, totaling 9,320 yuan ($1,303).

As a time-consuming, labor-intensive and low-yield task, coin sorting is by no means a premium business for banks. However, the diligent and professional work of Qilu Bank was gratefully recognized. "Though the number of coins is not large, the workload was very heavy, and Qilu Bank's thoughtful service earned great support," said a member of the scenic area's staff.

Han Bin, head of the bank's Daming Lake branch, said: "As a bank owned by the people of Jinan, Qilu Bank serves every enterprise and resident with dedication. We will continue to adhere to a people-oriented service principle and constantly improve our comprehensive capabilities, providing customers with high-quality and more efficient financial services."

By striving to ensure the trust and warmth local residents, Qilu Bank will continue to enhance the service quality and brand image, the bank said.