SHENZHEN is a beautiful city with many interesting places to visit, but it would be even better if it offered more information for foreign tourists, says visitor Max Olivieri, voicing an opinion shared by He Anlan, a member of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPPCC.

Olivieri complained that he found the English version of the local tourism bureau's Web site unusable.

"I went on the site several times, but the English version is not working and the site is not so beautiful as the book ("Visit Shenzhen") is," he said.

Olivieri found a copy of "Visit Shenzhen," a bilingual pamphlet from the tourism bureau, in his hotel during a visit to Shenzhen in February.

The information in the book is also available on the site www.visitshenzhen.com.

For foreigners living in the city, it makes sense to have a tourism Web site "offering English, Chinese and pinyin version of sites and all transportation to arrive there," Olivieri suggested.

Coincidentally, He, a member of the local committee of the CPPCC and the Jiu San Society, put forward a proposal Monday (Mar 20) calling for more work to build Shenzhen as an international tourism city.

"I think the bureau should compile a tourist map in both English and Chinese, with details of street names, shopping guide and transport tips, and deliver them at checkpoints and ports for free," He told the Shenzhen Daily reporter.

Tian Xueqin, a PR official with the tourism bureau, said that several companies employing expats had already contacted them with similar ideas.

"We have put the bilingual pamphlets at various ports. But for the English Web site, we have to consider it carefully and work out a budget before any substantial work begins. We know there is the need anyway," she said.

She added that foreigners can visit the English version of the government Web site www.sz.gov.cn, which provides information about various aspects of Shenzhen.

Editor: Wing