Sanya launches plans to be a language barrier-free international city

Sanya, a southern city in Hainan province, held a press conference on building itself into an international language barrier-free city on July 14, marking the first city in China to have launched such a project.

Chen Tiejun, executive vice-mayor of Sanya, emphasized the significance of turning Sanya into a language barrier-free city at the conference. He said that only when languages don't get in the way can people really exchange their ideas and unite. The language barrier has become a vital restriction of turning Sanya into an international metropolis. With the launch of the project, the business environment in Sanya will be improved and the city's tourism consumption and services will be upgraded.

Chen Tiejun introduces the project of building Sanya into a language barrier-free city at the conference. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The government will carry out the project from four aspects: the signage system, service outlets, multilingual translation service, and the multilingual information system on the basis of three phases: near term, medium term, and long term.

According to Chen, Sanya will adopt the construction model of "government planning plus enterprise investment and construction" as well as "phased procurement services".  It will take the lead in promoting the construction of foreigner service centers and supporting facilities, as well as upgrade language services at government service centers, tourist service centers, and entry and exit service halls. 

The city will also make full use of the role of the market and actively guide hotels, scenic spots, shopping malls, restaurants, as well as other travel-related enterprises to participate in the construction of a language barrier-free international city.

Foreigners try out the instant multilingual translation platform in Sanya. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

President of a Hainan-based enterprise specializing in building language barrier-free centers conducts an interview with a media outlet. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]