Reporting SCO: ‪Express tour inside SCO summit media center

World
Europe

02:50

‪The media center for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit has opened. And that's where at least 3,000 reporters from around 15 countries will gather. CGTN's Han Peng gives us an express tour of the venue.

‪The first thing you'll notice at the newly-opened media center - the well-prepared volunteers.

‪ZHU YIQI ‪SCO SUMMIT VOLUNTEER "We've been waiting for today, and we have done a lot of preparations so we can provide the best."

These local university students competed long and hard for an opportunity to work on this high-profile event.

ZHU YIQI ‪SCO SUMMIT VOLUNTEER ‪"We are very excited to meet a lot of famous international reporters."

"Are you going to take a lot of pictures with them?"

"Well, we are not allowed to. This is professional work, and we must focus on our service."

‪From showing the way to fixing minor problems, they are now essential guides for global reporters.

"How many languages do you speak here, as there will be a lot of international reporters coming here?"

"At the information desk, we speak three languages, Chinese, English and Russian."

‪At the heart of the media center, there are 600 news desks with computers, internet access and simultaneous interpretation. The speeches and meetings of the SCO leaders will be aired live on the big screen.

‪ANDREY KASPARSON ‪BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF, RUSSIA TODAY "We are hoping for quick Internet speed, because we are expecting some big news happening from here. When you get big news here, you must release it very, very fast."

Kasparson was one of the first foreign reporters to arrive.

ANDREY KASPARSON RUSSIA TODAY'S BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF ‪"This time, we are not just reporting the SCO summit, but also the state visit of Vladimir Putin to China. So it's like a double shift."

The SCO summit is just days ahead of the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore, so he says he must be ready for breaking news. Besides politics, the venue also showcases local cultures of Qingdao.

From paper cutouts to statuettes made with flour, this popular coastal tourist city hopes to gain more popularity with international media exposure.

‪HAN PENG QINGDAO "Now we have another volunteer joining us. Her name is WOW and she is actually a robot."

‪These robots are designed by local firms in Qingdao.

And technicians say they will update the software in her brain over the next few days, so she'll be able to speak more languages and provide more services. Han Peng, CGTN, Qingdao.