Multilingual hotline set up for traffic

Foreigners in Beijing will be able to report road emergencies to the 122 traffic police hotline in eight languages from July 20 to Sept 20.

In addition to reporting automotive accidents, they will also be able to request traffic information and inquire about temporary traffic controls in English, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Korean and Japanese, Shao Jie, director of the Beijing 122 headquarters, told a press briefing yesterday.

He said the move would "offer better services for foreign visitors". The municipal government has estimated that about 450,000 to 500,000 tourists will descend on Beijing during the Olympic Games - a large number of which will come from overseas.