Beijing Expands its Government Website to Eight Languages

Though the flow of foreign newcomers into China has all but come to a halt, Beijing is still making accommodations for the existing foreign community as well as preparations for a wave of new foreign talent that the city expects following the resolution of the global pandemic, and part of that has meant the development of much-needed multilingual resources.

This summer, the city launched an English version of its government website, Beijing.gov.cn, though it initially provided little more than visa guidance in way of actually useful information. Now, in addition to expanding its resources, the site is available in eight languages – English, Korean, Japanese, German, French, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic.

Since the initial launch, the English version of the site has been updated to include new wells of information on topics related to life in Beijing, from housing and transportation to marriage and childbearing. It also has updated info for foreigners looking to start a business or invest in Beijing, and it has finally given a home to official translations of Beijing laws (particularly ones that apply to foreigners) so that non-Chinese speakers can consult the law for themselves.

Nearly all of the guidance information has now been translated into the aforementioned languages, but translation of the laws is still lagging in most non-English versions.

In October, the English site added a chat robot called Jingjing, but a few test questions reveal that the bot’s capabilities are, for the time being, severely limited, as it is only able to respond to a few keywords. Regardless, Jingjing is now available in all languages.

More than anything, however, the site's development is something of a warm welcome to foreigners in Beijing, and with time it may become an indispensable resource for those who settle here.

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Image: Know Your Meme