Podcast

Foreign-language services available to visitors

Updated: 2010-07-19 12:57

The Shanghai municipal public security bureau has launched foreign-language services to assist overseas visitors to Shanghai during the Expo.

The emergency police hotline 110, which formerly provided only Chinese-language services, is now offering services in nine foreign languages. These are: English, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Korean and Italian.

Police officers fluent in foreign languages have also been dispatched to airports, railway stations, seaports and bus stations. These officers will offer services in five languages and will help foreign visitors hoping to travel in China, said Tang Haixing, director of the port department of the Expo security office.

Railway police have assigned 24 English-speaking officers to Shanghai Railway Station and Shanghai South Railway Station.

Shanghai's social order has remained stable since May 1, said He He, deputy director of the Expo security office.

Criminal cases have decreased by 43 percent. Traffic and fire accidents have decreased by 29.4 percent and 48.1 percent, He said.

Police have advised visitors to take care of valuables inside Expo Garden, especially in crowded areas.

Zhao Yong, the head of the criminal investigation department of the municipal public security bureau, said 40 percent of visitors who claimed to have lost items believed they had misplaced them in the Garden, while another 40 percent could not remember when and where they had lost their belongings.

"We remind tourists to frequently check to make sure they have their belongings, especially after a meal or when they move from a resting place," Zhao said. "We also encourage visitors to carry their cameras and backpacks in front of them when in large crowds."

去聽寫專區一展身手

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Foreign-language services available to visitors

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is fluent in Korean and has a 2-year-old son.