Expatriates in Shenzhen have a new way of accessing information about living, studying, working, traveling, shopping and healthcare in the city with the opening of a new call center yesterday.

Shenzhen Call Center has been launched by the Shenzhen Press Group as part of its strategy of expanding into multi-media activities in addition to print media.

By calling the hotline number, 969766, which is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., residents can reach an English-speaking operator who can provide information on a range of topics. A Chinese-language service is available 24 hours a day.

The call center will make full use of the information resources of the Shenzhen Daily, one of the three major English-language newspapers in China, to offer advice and information for expatriates working and traveling in Shenzhen.

Huang Yanglue, president of the Shenzhen Press Group, said at the opening ceremony that the establishment of the call center is a strategic move to integrate print media and Internet and to establish effective contacts with the public.

In the next two or three years, the call center will become an influential regional information service center with a comprehensive databank of information for public inquiries.

Ranajit Dam, a copy editor of the Shenzhen Daily, said many foreigners, whether they are short-term visitors or long-term residents, will benefit from the service.

"The Shenzhen Daily is the most important source of information for overseas residents in the city and I believe the call center, as an extension of the newspaper, will provide comprehensive real-time information to foreigners," said Ranajit Dam at the opening ceremony.

"The call center will become more prominent especially with the city winning the right to host the 2011 Universiade, which means in four years' time, foreign guests from around the world will come to see what the youngest city in the Universiade history to show to the world."

The call center is expected to help foreigners settle in the city more easily and painlessly, and also help build a truly international city, according Dam.

The city is estimated to have about 100,000 foreign residents and nearly 70 of the Fortune 500 enterprises have opened offices and factories in the city. Residents can also call 969766 to subscribe to local newspapers including the Shenzhen Daily. Around 8,000 calls were received on its first day yesterday.

(Shenzhen Daily June 7, 2007)