Shanghai airports open service centers for CIIE

Employees, volunteers trained to offer directions to expo venue, translations, while mobile app will provide handy visitor guide

Travelers headed for the China International Import Expo can now access information about the event at seven new service centers located at Shanghai's two main airports.

Three of the centers are at Hongqiao International Airport, while the others are at Pudong International Airport.

The CIIE will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10.

Besides finding information on the event, city traffic and directions on how to get to the expo site, visitors to the service centers can also buy transportation cards and SIM cards and borrow power banks. The centers can be found within 500 meters in any direction.

"To make our service more professional, we have produced a manual that contains answers to frequently asked questions about the CIIE," says Xie Fang, deputy general manager in charge of operations at the Shanghai Airport Authority. "Employees at the service centers have also been trained to assist with visitors' queries."

In preparation for the CIIE, round-the-clock language translation services have been made available at Pudong airport since late September. Passengers who require this service can approach any of the eight permanent information kiosks.

"More than 20 volunteers able to speak a total of 12 languages, including Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, French, Arabic and Italian, are ready to offer help to our foreign visitors," says Shi Zhiying, a member of the service center team at the Pudong airport.

According to Shi, the service centers have received about 500 inquiries a day from international travelers since their launch.

A map of the CIIE has been published to help participants find their destinations with ease.

Zhong Xiaomin, deputy head of the China International Import Expo Bureau, says a mobile app offering important information about the CIIE has also been created. It can be downloaded by scanning the QR code on the map.

The app provides news, tips on how to navigate the large convention center, translation services and information on the expo.