English language search engines launched for China expats

Five aggregate search engines have been launched to help foreigners find English-language information about China.

The websites include content for Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen and are located at:

Beijing Stuff – http://www.BJstuff.com
Guangzhou Stuff – http://www.GZstuff.com
Hong Kong Stuff – http://www.HongKongStuff.com
Shanghai Stuff – http://www.Shanghaistuff.com , and
Shenzhen Stuff – http://www.ShenzhenStuff.com

The websites deliver city-focused, English-language results for specific categories including bars, restaurants, jobs and apartments.

Ideal for mobile access, each site enables users to search for information on the go with any java-capable mobile web browser.

For more information, visit the specific websiite for your city.

OCT East opens to visitors this weekend

2007年07月27日  00:18    Shenzhen Daily

Peng Fei PART of the long-awaited ecological resort OCT East at Sanzhoutian in Yantian District, Shenzhen, will have a soft opening Saturday. Residents will be able to visit two of the three theme parks and part of the third, including attractions like a hot spring town similar to Interlagen in Switzerland, two luxury hotels, a tea garden, a bamboo garden and 13,000 square meters of wetland, said Yuan Tiejian, vice general manager of Shenzhen OCT East Co. Ltd., at a press conference Wednesday. Discounts will be offered until Sept. 30, when the trial operation ends. The parks will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Expert panel set up to improve English signs

2007年07月27日 00:18 Shenzhen Daily ALL English signs in Shenzhen will be corrected by an expert panel, which was set up recently, Wednesday’s Shenzhen Economic Daily reported. The expert association, set up by the city’s foreign affairs office, consists of 21 foreign language experts from Beijing, Shenzhen, the United States and Hong Kong, including senior English language experts Shi Yanhua and Ambassador Guo Jiading from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The association is scheduled to hold its first meeting in September this year to standardize translations of signs in public places. The tasks of the expert association include revising 14 documents such as General Standard of English Translations for Public Bilingual Signs; examining English translations of bilingual signs; and analyzing problems that occur during the translation process. Shenzhen is the third city in China to set up an association to standardize English signs in public places following Beijing and Qingdao, host cities of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. According to regulations, English signs in public places should have the same translations for the same Chinese words. A lack of consistency in translations has led to the occurrence of wrong translations, different versions of translations and spelling mistakes, which threaten to damage the city’s international profile, the Daily report said. Some companies and government agencies in the city have been required to submit the text of signs to the Shenzhen Municipal Urban Planning Bureau and the municipal foreign affairs office. These public signs will be checked and approved before being put into use. (Zhu Xiaoran)