Multilingual options for foreign visitors in demand

With China's expanding visa-free entry policies and a surge in inbound tourism, the demand for tour guides, particularly those with expertise in less common languages, has increased.

In 2024, there was a significant rise in the number of foreign tourists visiting China, with the country welcoming 94.63 million inbound tourists in the first three quarters of the year, marking a 78.8 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Chinese tourists traveling abroad reached 145.9 million last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Feb 28.

In response to this growth, the demand for multilingual tour guides, especially those fluent in less widely spoken languages, is growing.

Hu Guangyuan from Beijing, who studied Russian, has been a Russian-speaking tour guide since October 2023. Many Russian tourists to China have sought out his services via social media platforms.

One of the most sought-after destinations where Hu guides visitors is the Great Wall of China.

"For many, the moment they see the Great Wall's winding and continuous expanse, they are struck by its sheer grandeur," Hu said.

He noted that many international tourists were unaware of the monumental effort it took to build such a massive structure and many of them didn't know that the Great Wall was built on mountains.

Around 70 percent of Hu's clientele consists of Russian visitors, along with tourists from Central Asia and Belarus.

Most of these tourists travel in small groups, up to five people, allowing for a more intimate and customized experience.

He said many clients treat him like family, telling him their personal stories and even inviting him to visit their home countries.

Hu said he has noticed the rising demand for Russian-speaking guides in China, as he receives at least one or two inquiries on a daily basis.

Chinese tour guides who can speak a foreign language are in demand in the market.

They are not only responsible for planning itineraries and accompanying tourists during their travels but also for answering a wide range of questions from visitors. For foreign tourists eager to understand and explore China, they serve as a window into the country's culture and heritage.

Foreign-language tour guides make up a very small proportion of China's tour guide workforce, and the proportion of guides fluent in languages other than English is even smaller, said Li Jian, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Travel Services' tour guide committee.

Li noted that due to the lengthy training cycle required for tour guides, the shortage of guides proficient in less common languages is likely to persist for the next three to five years.

Driven by the wave of "China Travel" on various social media platforms, many Chinese tour guides have started to take language training programs, including those for Japanese, Korean, Russian and Thai.

Deng Xueyuan, a Japanese language tutor from Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan province, said she has felt a significant shift in her student makeup.

Many of her students were middle school students and adults who intended to study in Japan, said Deng, who has more than a decade of teaching experience.

Since last year, however, nearly half of the learners have been professionals from industries such as e-commerce and tourism, who study Japanese with the goal of career advancement, Deng said.

She said these learners pay special attention to work-related language skills.

"They often make specific requests. For example, in the tourism sector, they might ask how to say giant pandas or Wuhou Shrine in Japanese, or how to explain the Three Kingdoms culture, which is of particular interest to Japanese tourists," Deng said.

Liu Fang, who heads a bilingual language training program for experienced tour guides in Chengdu, said that English training classes after the Spring Festival holiday saw a 50-percent increase in enrollments compared with the same period the year before.

For Hu, he has come to see being a tour guide as more than just a job, but a way to bridge cultural divides.

"Many first-time visitors to China have incomplete understandings of our culture," he said.

For instance, they may think all Chinese food is spicy, said Hu, adding that once they arrive, they realize that there are plenty of dishes that aren't spicy at all.

During their travels, his clients are often amazed by the modern, high-rise buildings in Beijing, which challenge their preconceived notions of China.

"Their impressions of the country change dramatically," he said.