China Ready!

Catherine Hua Xiang (项骅) is the East Asian language coordinator at the London School of Economics and Political Science (伦敦政经经济学院). She is also the programme director of the bachelor of science in international relations programme and the Chinese and UK director of LSE Confucius Institute for Business London. As an experienced academic leader and applied linguist in higher education, she is skilled in intercultural communication, translation, foreign languages, lecturing, TV, and public speaking. Her previous publications include Mastering Chinese – The Complete Course for Beginners, Cases on Audio-visual Media in Language Education, and Teaching and Learning Chinese in Higher Education: Theoretical and Practical Issues. Originally from Shanghai, Catherine has been living and working in the UK for 20 years. Xuan Lorna Wang (王暄) is the deputy head of the Department of Hospitality at the University of Surrey (萨里大学), where she also leads an executive course on hotel investment and asset management and supervises doctoral students. She earned her PhD at Oxford Brookes University and holds a visiting professorship at the University of Angers, France. Lorna is a senior fellow of Higher Education Academy and fellow of Hospitality Professional Association. She serves on the editorial boards of leading international journals, such as the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management; the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research; the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management; and the Service Industries Journal.

Chinese is the most spoken language in the world and China has become the dominant source market for many destinations worldwide. Learning a language is the first step to understand another culture. It’s time to have a book on Chinese for hospitality and tourism! Both current and future industry professionals would benefit from learning a few sentences from this book. Speak to impress! -- Cathy Hsu, PhD, Chair Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityThere are quite a few beginners’ books to help foreign visitors who go to visit China. With an increasing number of Chinese visitors coming to the UK and the West, people working in hotels, restaurants, shops, tourist attractions, etc. where Chinese visitors go may want to learn some Chinese in order to provide better service to their Chinese customers. What beginners’ book would they start with? Hardly any on the market in the past. But they can stop searching now. China Ready! Chinese for Hospitality and Tourism is for them. This textbook covers the most common occasions and situations in places where Chinese visitors may need service and assistance. This user-friendly textbook provides useful phrases and expressions, pinyin and character texts, and, more importantly, cultural awareness tips which would help users of the book to enhance the service and assistance they provide to Chinese visitors. -- Lianyi Song, Principal Teaching Fellow, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, SOAS, University of London

• Table of Contents AcknowledgementsPreface Polite Daily Expressions Greetings and Welcoming Guests Hotel Check-in and Check-out Introducing Hotel Facilities Hotel Services (1) Hotel Services (2) Requests and Problem-Solving Dealing with Incidents Talking about Areas Nearby What is Going on Now Touristic Shopping Introducing Local Food and Drinks Introducing Local Customs Describing a Place or Visitor Attraction (1) Describing a Place or Visitor Attraction (2) Appendix Index