Debra Li debra_lidan@163.com TO better serve international visitors during the busy summer travel season, Shenzhen Concert Hall has introduced English-language features on its official website and WeChat miniprogram. They have also partnered with online travel agents trip.com and klook.com to provide ticket booking services on these platforms, allowing travelers to plan their visits and book concerts simultaneously. When visiting the concert hall’s official website at szyyt.com, users can click the “English” button located at the top left of the screen to access information on shows, performers, programs, dates, and tickets. Besides, bilingual services are now available on the venue’s WeChat miniprogram (search “深圳音樂廳”). According to Su Haochen, the spokesperson for the concert hall, various payment methods are accepted for ticket purchases. “Visitors can pay with Visa, digital yuan, cash, and other standard payment methods at the box office. They can also use WeChat Pay on the miniprogram or book tickets on the official website using WeChat Pay or Alipay,” explained Su. Within walking distance of the concert hall, there are branches of Ping An Bank, Huaxia Bank, Bank of China, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China where travelers can open yuan accounts. Travelers can utilize WeChat Pay and Alipay by linking overseas bank cards like Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, and Discover to these Chinese payment platforms. Su also mentioned that bilingual signage in Chinese and English has been put up to provide direction at the concert hall. Furthermore, announcements before and during each show are broadcast in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. An often unknown service provided by the concert hall is the complimentary luggage deposit available to ticket-holders on the day of the performance. Luggage can be stored at the Cloak Room on the second floor of the venue on weekdays starting at 4 p.m. and on weekends from 11 a.m. The number of international visitors has seen a sharp increase following the availability of a 144-hour visa-free transit in China for citizens from 54 countries. “Since its opening in 2007, Shenzhen Concert Hall has been hosting over 300 performances annually, with most being classical music concerts,” Su said. “With these new services, we wish to attract more music fans from overseas to our venue. They can enjoy the cityscapes during the day and unwind with music in the evening.” | 