From the Readers

Cash in on Expo train

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-13 07:53

I am a native English speaker who is familiar with only a few common Chinese characters. During the Labor Day long weekend, I visited Shaoxing in Zhejiang province. For my return trip to Ningbo, I had the pleasure of riding on the new "D" train.

To help pass the time, I thought I would read the magazine provided by the railways, that is, Passengers 39, dated April 20, 2010. But I found I could read little other than the Railway News Release on page 6. Thankfully, there were some great pictures in the magazine.

As I watched the passing scenery during the rest of my journey, I thought that at least the railways public relations department has realized they have a captive audience to share their messages with. My mind then turned to the opportunities for sharing information and ideas with foreigners that are being missed, especially during the next six months when the World Expo would hold center-stage in Shanghai. What better time will there be to promote the country among foreign visitors with just a few articles in English in a magazine already provided to a captive audience?

Dudley Olsen, via e-mail

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(China Daily 05/13/2010 page9)