Shared Market & Future: Shanghai upgrades city service in preparation for CIIE

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Three days ahead of the first ever China International Import Expo, Shanghai prepares to welcome thousands of international guests. CGTN's Xu Mengqi shows us what the extra volunteers and workers are up to.

From the very moment guests arrive in Shanghai, they're shown the way to the China international import expo.

At immigration inspection, officer Du Wei directs expo-goers to a special lane dedicated to the event.

DU WEI, OFFICER CHINA IMMIGRATION INSPECTION "The Shanghai airport immigration inspection pulled together a team of volunteers. There are more than 180 officers who can speak a combined total of 12 languages, including English, French, German and Japanese."

There are seven of these service centers for the expo at Shanghai's two international airports, all located in places that are easy to spot.

XU MENGQI SHANGHAI "Aside from placing volunteers on standby to answer questions, the service centers also have expo guide maps, which provide a wealth of information including floor maps of the exhibition venue, how to get there using various means of transport, and how to find more than 1,700 recommended hotels."

ZHONG XIAOMIN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL CHINA INTERNATIONAL IMPORT EXPO BUREAU "Because there will be a large number of guests arriving in Shanghai, we want to impress people with hospitality and make them feel welcome by the import expo and by Shanghai."

In preparation for the event, hotels have also stepped up their safety measures.

Some, like this one, ran tests of medical emergency, fire, intrusion and attack.

"Robert, you call the police and an ambulance immediately."

GERD KNAUST, GENERAL MANAGER THE KUNLUN JING AN "There's a lot of re-training about service behavior, we're doing intensive training for food and beverage staff, of how we serve guests, VIP events."

The city government placed a price ceiling on hotels in September, meaning they can't charge more during the expo than what they did in the same period last year.

In the meantime, 350 clean energy taxis and 440 electrical buses have been put into use.

CHEN YUDONG, PRESIDENT BOSCH CHINA, EXHIBITOR "For us, we are very close to the exhibition site, we feel the upgrade of transportation system, we feel the cleanliness of streets."

PAN QING, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JAGUAR LAND ROVER CHINA, EXHIBITOR "SH is just an amazing host, because of its mentality, the determination of embracing the global companies, providing the services."

The expo will take place at Shanghai's National Exhibition and Convention Center, which guests can reach via metro, buses, coaches, or cabs.

More than 230 traffic signboards were set up along expressways so drivers will be able to find the venue more easily.

XMQ, CGTN, Shanghai.