Hangzhou airport introduces machine translation

Machine translation devices were introduced to 20 exit-entry service windows of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, capital of Zhejiang province, on Nov 22.

The machine, which is able to translate more than 40 kinds of languages worldwide, plays an important role in bridging communication issues when receiving international tourists from across the world, especially those from India and Russia, according to Zhou Wei, an official at the airport.

"The machine translation is so great. Thank you Hangzhou," said a tourist from Japan who took less than three minutes to go through the whole process at the exit-entry service windows of the airport.

In 2018 to date, Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport has handled a total of 4.91 million inbound and outbound travellers, 0.53 million of which are international tourists.

"The number is extremely high nationwide," said Ma Rong, a border inspector of the airport, adding that the airport has been getting increasingly busy after the city held G20 Summit in 2016.

"Before 2016, there were less than 100 international tourists arriving in the city, but now, there are more than 150 arrivals per day," he said, suggesting that Hangzhou is on track to building itself into an international city with more overseas tourists, business and investment opportunities.

Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is one of the 10 largest airports in China, with direct international fights to Madrid, Amsterdam, Paris, Djakarta, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Doha and other regions.