Changchun City Welcomes Foreigners

Mr. Zhao, Ms. Yu and I during our lunchon meeting in Changchun, China.

Group picture of foreign proof-readers of the Changchun Municipal Government and staff members. I am sitting next to Ms. Yu, division chief of Changchun Foreign website. Picture courtesy by Changchun Foreign Divison.

By Mathew Yakai, Jilin University, Changchun

CHANGCHUN city, the capital of Jilin Province in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) welcomes foreign friends who want to study, work, do business or live in Changchun.

To make this convenient, the Changchun Municipal Foreign (Overseas) Affairs Office through its foreign website will provide more information about the city to encourage more awareness.

Mr. Zhao Jindong, Deputy Director General of Changchun Municipal Foreign (Overseas) Affairs Office said this on Thursday 15 Jan, 2009 when meeting with foreign language proof-readers of the Changchun Foreign Website.

Foreign Affairs Office of Changchun Municipality has the website in five different languages, English, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Chinese, as part of its drive to promote Changchun to foreigners.

The website address is http://www.ccfao.com.cn/ and provides vital information about the city including popular tourist spots, historical sites, information on the Municipal Government, weather and other information.

This writer (Mathew Yakai) from Papua New Guinea, former journalist and currently a student at Jilin University in Changchun City is the proof-reader/sub-editor of the English website news bulletin http://www.ccfao.com.cn/.

During the lunch meeting, Mr. Zhao accepted the fact that the website lacks other important information which are vital for foreigners to find life more convenient including major shopping centers, hospitals, and recreational places to name the few.

Mr. Zhao said his office is planning to make available these information for foreigners in different languages and also provide the city map on the website identifying important places for foreigners to know.

He also asked the proof-readers to contribute ideas and suggestions to make the website more interesting and convenient for foreigners to use.

Ms. Yu Xiao Yun, Division Chief of Changchun Foreign website was also present.

Both Mr. Zhao and Ms. Yu thanked the foreign proof-readers who were present at the time and wished them a Happy Chinese New Year.