The officials of Beijing's Chaoyang District have preliminarily selected more than 90 families in the Datun neighborhood near the National Stadium as home-stay families for foreign tourists during the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the Beijing Evening News reported on Tuesday.
"The selected families can speak foreign languages and have the characteristics of traditional Chinese culture." said Yang Hongfu, an official of the Datun neighborhood.
The families will be open to foreign media and athletes for visits. Some will also provide accommodations for oversea visitors.
Zhou Hongtao is a retired diplomat who has traveled to over 40 countries around the world. He and his wife both graduated as Spanish majors from Beijing Foreign Studies University.
"I served as a counselor at Chinese Embassy in Cuba when China's Olympic bid succeeded in 2001. Now, as the Games is coming soon, we'd love to do our bits. Our home is only five minutes away from the Bird Nest by walk, and I'm sure we'll have a lot of topics to talk about with guests from Latin America." Zhou said.
Cao Qiwen, a senior massagist, is from another selected family.
"My child speaks good English. We live in a three-bedroom apartment and can spare one bedroom for the visitor." Cao said, "I can also show the visitor my massage techniques, which is a gem of Chinese traditional iatrology."
The families will receive trainings on manners and Olympic-related knowledge in the following days, according to Yang Hongfu.
