Three and a half years ago, Shilpals (speaking to China Business Weekly on the condition that she would not be identified by her surname) accompanied her husband on a four-year stay in China, due to his Indian company's local business. The family settled down in Seasons Park, an apartment building in Beijing's Dongcheng District.

"It was the first time I'd been here, so it was important to know more about China and Beijing as quickly as possible," says the part-time writer and copy editor.

She ended up stumbling upon an issue of that's Beijing, a free English-language listings magazine, in the lobby of her building.

"It really helped me a lot. I learned where to eat, drink, shop, and entertain in Beijing."

Shilpals also learned more about Chinese culture by attending activities held by the Chinese Culture Club.

"I get information on activities through columns and listings. Now I know Mahjong and how to play it. I know Beijing's hutong (narrow, old alleys) as well," she says.

Shilpals is not alone. Many foreigners travelling, studying or working in China have a wide range of English-language publications and other media sources at their disposal listings magazines are one of the most important and frequently used options.

Unlike newspapers, listings magazines provide local foreign expatriates with information on dining, shopping, travel, culture and entertainment options. These magazines help them lead better lives in China. Best of all, they are free.

With more and more foreigners flocking to the mainland to study or work in recent years, listings magazines targeting this niche market are winning over expats like Shilpals.

Usually, listings magazines are distributed in places that are popular with foreigners, such as bars, restaurants, and hotels.

"They provide complete information and are convenient," says Christian Humbert, director of sales and marketing at the St Regis Hotel Beijing. Humbert came to China eight months ago.

Between 1950 and 2005, 884,315 foreign students studied in China. In 2005, the number reached a record high of more than 140,000, an increase of 27 per cent from the previous year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security also shows more than 150,000 foreigners from the United States, Europe, Japan and Singapore had registered to work in China at present.

All of the listings magazines are eagerly anticipating the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics, and plan to aggressively expand their businesses.

"We expect to make giant strides in advertising and circulation in 2008," says Xu Lijun, editor-in-chief of City Weekend, a magazine that is published every 10 days in Beijing and Shanghai.

Ji Tao, editor of Beijing Weekend, a weekly listings magazine under China Daily that primarily caters to the Beijing market, agrees.

"The Olympics will bring great opportunities for listings magazines, because many more foreigners will visit China," he says.

The English language is becoming more widely used in China, so some listings magazines also include Chinese citizens as part of their target readership.

"(The) that's (series of publications) target English readers, but not only foreigners. That's (magazines) are also recognized by local readers, and they represent up to 50 per cent of our total readership base," says Leo Zhou, general manager with that's Shanghai and that's Pearl-River Delta Region. That's is a monthly magazine covering Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Zhou says their local readers are mainly white-collar professionals, Chinese executives and students who have come back home after studying abroad.

For City Weekend and Time Out, a major London-based monthly listings magazine with a Beijing version, local readers represent 30 and 15 per cent of their respective total readership.

Readers or clients?

Most listing magazines are free, so advertising space is their major income source. But this does not mean they sacrifice editorial quality to make money.

"That's magazine focuses on readers, not advertising clients. Our massive popularity is the reason why we have decent advertising income," says Zhou who refuses to reveal specific figures.

That's and City Weekend cover Beijing and Shanghai.

"I think the majority of them are good. I usually scan through them all, but I prefer City Weekend and that's Beijing," says Vlad Reyes, general manager with Hilton Beijing.

Amy Fabris Shi, lifestyle editor at that's Shanghai, agrees. "I think that's Shanghai and City Weekend are better than the others in Shanghai," she says.

But Shilpals, who reads both that's Beijing and City Weekend, does not think that's Beijing is distributed widely enough, because she can't always find it.

"That's because that's Beijing is so popular and sometimes supply shortages do happen, but we all suffer from this. All distribution points are regularly evaluated to optimize exposure and advertising effectiveness," Zhou explains.

Compared with that's Beijing, City Weekend seems to enjoy better distribution, but is weaker in editorial content and is not researched as thoroughly, Shilpals says.

"You easily get excited about their headlines and cover stories, but when you read them, you feel let down because there's no content, no interviews and no research. It looks stupid, but it always happens," Shilpals says.

"We should try to improve that, but I think we have done a good job. Using eye-catching headlines is a normal way to attract readers," Xu explains.

City Weekend used to be a bi-monthly magazine, but it has come out three times a month since earlier this year in order to provide more up-to-date information. Its total circulation for both Beijing and Shanghai is 80,000, evenly split between the two cities.

Demand for the that's publications is enormous, so that's Shanghai started selling copies of the magazines at Lawson convenience stores and CarreFour. The company will sell the magazine at newsstands in the future. That's Beijing will not be sold, however.

That's Shanghai's circulation is currently 50,000 and is audited by Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations.

That's Guangzhou and that's Shenzhen will be combined into a single publication - that's Pearl River Delta Region sometime this summer.

Tina Yan, publisher of Time Out, says the magazine sticks to its principle of not being swayed by advertisers. It stands firm on its editorial content.

Time Out is an international brand published in 15 cities worldwide. It was launched in China in late 2004, with circulation reaching 40,000, distributed across 500 points.

"The principle is the same worldwide, including China. This is the way we should be," says Yan.

More than 10 editors work at Time Out Beijing, and all of them are from English-speaking countries. But at City Weekend in Beijing, only three of the eight editors are native English speakers.

"We're proud of this," says Time Out's Yan.

Getting more

Reader feedback is extremely important to all of the expat-oriented magazines in China.

"We highly respect what readers think and say," says Zhou.

Every October, that's magazine conducts a quantitative readership survey.

"Feedback has been positive," Zhou says.

In September 2004, that's magazine redesigned its layout, with pages increasing from 132 to 180.

"There are too many pages, and it is not user-friendly," says Beijing Weekend's Ji.

This year that's magazine chose 23 readers, including seven Chinese and 16 foreigners, for a qualitative focus group on their opinions on the editorial direction the magazine had taken, the magazine's advantages and disadvantages, and its position.

Time Out also conducts readership surveys every four months.

"We try to learn more about readers, and make adjustments accordingly. This is really helpful," says Yan.

Earlier this year, Time Out responded to reader demand by running its Slanging Match feature in every issue. This regular section teaches foreign readers natural Chinese expressions not ordinarily found in standard textbooks, and provides examples on how to use them.

"This became popular quickly, and others like City Weekend have even followed us," Yan says.

But Xu says City Weekend isn't stealing ideas from other magazines.

"Every two months, we survey our readers. Although we run a similar column to what Time Out launched earlier this year, it's not a copy. The idea came from our readers," Xu says.

Perhaps there is one reader suggestion that all of the expat publications seem to be missing.

"(These magazines) really should do something to differentiate themselves from each other. Otherwise, they'll be fighting in vain," says Shipals.

(China Daily 06/19/2006 page5)