Beijing's hotel managers, market businesses and tour guides have
been busy brushing up on their language skills in preparation for
the arrival of thousands of African guests.
The visitors are not ordinary tourists but heads of state and
high-ranking officials from 48 African countries who are attending
the Beijing Summit and third Ministerial Conference of
the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation which gets underway on
November 1.
"This is expected to be the largest summit ever staged in the
country since 1949," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said
at a regular news briefing Tuesday. "It's also a milestone marking
China-Africa economic co-operation and cultural exchanges."
Over 3,000 people from Africa will attend the event, say the
foreign ministry. At least 20 five-star hotels in the Chinese
capital will host state leaders and delegates, said one of the
organizers.
The official, who declined to be named, refusing to reveal
detailed arrangements for the guests said, "We'll try our best to
make sure our African friends have a good stay in Beijing during
the summit by offering them satisfactory accommodation, delicious
food, security and convenience."
Beijing Television reported that hotels had made special
preparations for their presidential suites. Chefs at hotel
restaurants will show off their skills in producing both Chinese
and African cuisine.
Banners carrying words of welcome adorn major city streets
highlighting the summit's theme of "friendship, peace, development
and co-operation."
Flowerbeds have been arranged in Tian'anmen Square to the west
of which is the Great Hall of the People where the summit is being
held. Usually this level of decoration is reserved for National Day
on October 1.
Beijing residents are busy preparing. A neighborhood committee
in Dongcheng District last week invited two African students
studying at the Beijing Institute of Technology to teach local
residents African etiquette. "We want to show our best manners to
welcome our friends from afar," said Wang Yixian, a resident in
Hepingli neighborhood.
To help ease transport concerns for African leaders and
government officials the Beijing Benz-Daimler Chrysler Automotive
Co. Ltd have provided 110 official cars.? They've also
assisted train the drivers.
The city will also implement temporary traffic measures on major
roads leading to the airport, conference venue and hotels during
the summit. Around 80 percent of government cars will be banned
from the streets.
Beijing authorities have also mobilized 810,000 volunteers from
all walks of life to patrol residential communities and streets as
an extra security measure, according to reports by the Xinhua News
Agency.
(China Daily November 1, 2006)
