How Shenzhen Is Getting Ready to Welcome the World for APEC 2026
Shenzhen hosts the 2026 APEC meetings next week, and the whole city has spent the year getting ready to welcome international visitors. Street signs have been fixed, taxi drivers are learning English, and frontline workers are rehearsing conversations with foreign guests.
One of the people behind that preparation is an American who has called Shenzhen home for ten years.
Meet Lita, the trainer preparing Shenzhen's frontline staff
Shalita Murdock, known as Lita, is an American corporate communication consultant. Since the start of the year she has trained frontline service staff for APEC, helping them practise the moments when they will need to speak English with visitors.
Her sessions use role-play. Groups work through realistic scenarios, such as registration desks, the media centre, and medical or emergency situations, then discuss solutions and present them to the room. Some participants rarely use English and feel nervous around foreign guests, she told Ming Pao, so practising in advance helps them stay calm and know who to ask for help.
The training goes beyond language. Lita says demand for cross-cultural training has grown as APEC approaches, covering etiquette across different cultures and how to serve visitors well. She has also sat in on APEC volunteer training and judged an English speech contest in Futian District to select young APEC volunteers. What stayed with her was why the winners signed up: they wanted to introduce Shenzhen to foreign visitors themselves.
"From kids to the elderly, everyone in Shenzhen is preparing for the meeting."
Ten years in Shenzhen
Lita came to Shenzhen in 2016 to work for a language training company, after living in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city's startup energy and speed reminded her of home, but the crowds and traffic overwhelmed her at first. Back then, sending money to the US or exchanging currency often meant asking a local friend for help. Today, she says, it is as easy as breathing.
She later founded her own company, LearnwithLITA, which offers corporate communication training and cross-cultural services to the growing number of Shenzhen companies going international.
She once thought about leaving, about six years ago, but the pandemic changed her plans. In the end she stayed for the everyday connections: the convenience store staff downstairs, her neighbours, her nail salon, the parks, and her favourite food, from xiaolongbao to claypot rice and coconut chicken. Her husband is Italian, and she now jokes that she has three homes: the US, Italy and Shenzhen.
"Shenzhen is no longer just where I work and run my business. It's where my social life is," she said. She now calls herself a Shenzhener.
What Shenzhen has changed for foreigners
Shenzhen has rolled out a series of measures this year to make the city easier for international visitors to navigate. Ming Pao compiled them from public sources:
| Area | What changed |
|---|---|
| English translations | New rules to standardise English names for places, roads, scenic spots, business districts and ports |
| Transport | AI translation devices in taxis and on some bus routes; bilingual signs and announcements in metro and train stations; travel guides in several languages |
| "Woodpecker" campaign | Residents are encouraged to report wrong or awkward English on public signs |
| Language training | Foreign language and international etiquette training for volunteers and frontline service staff |
| "City Eyes" campaign | Residents can snap and report problems with city appearance, roads, public safety and green spaces |
| Translation app | A free AI translation app, backed by the Shenzhen Foreign Affairs Office, open to APEC volunteers, visitors and residents |
The city's APEC slogan, "Gather in Shenzhen, Witness the Wonders," is now everywhere. Lita says she sees it on the streets, in malls and even at bus stops.
Some neighbourhoods are going further. Xiangmihu Subdistrict, one of Shenzhen's first "internationalisation demonstration" areas, opened an International Friendly Service Center in February and has since hosted more than 30 cultural events for local and foreign residents, from a flower-arranging workshop to a Latin American culture season featuring Peru, Chile and Mexico. Lita says the centre has helped her solve everyday and work problems, introduced her to businesses, and given her a venue for her own events.
The taxi driver who stopped being afraid to speak
The push is reaching everyday life too. Shenzhen Bus Group has rolled out its first 6,000 MossTalk AI translation devices, which support more than 140 languages and work offline. They are going into its "Little Yellow Hat" taxis and onto routes foreigners use most, including the Shenzhen–Zhongshan cross-city buses, the airport express and the port bus terminal.
Some drivers are going further on their own. Taxi driver Mr Wang told Ming Pao he studies English online while waiting for rides or charging his car, and that APEC gave him extra motivation. He used to stay silent with foreign passengers and just open a translation app. Now he greets them himself with "Where are you going?" and sometimes chats a little.
One passenger from London was surprised: in more than 20 years in China, he said, Mr Wang was the first taxi driver he had met who spoke English. Mr Wang was proud, but wants to go further than "where are you going." More of his colleagues are now asking him to teach them common English phrases.
When foreign passengers ask him where to go for fun, he usually recommends Shenzhen Bay Park and Dameisha Beach.
Why it matters for foreigners in China
The numbers explain the effort. According to Shenzhen government data released at the end of September, foreigners made 1.344 million entries and exits through Shenzhen airport so far this year, up 29.9% year on year and a record for the period. Business, conferences, sightseeing and leisure made up 64.7% of those trips.
For the foreign community already living here, Lita's story will sound familiar. The first months in a Chinese city can be overwhelming, and things like paying, sending money home or finding the right service often depend on knowing the right local person. Cities like Shenzhen are making that easier, but a community still makes the biggest difference.
That is what Hafrik is for. On the Hafrik app, foreigners in China can ask questions, share experiences, find trusted African and international businesses, and connect with people who have already figured things out, whether you have been here ten years like Lita or just landed for APEC.
Download Hafrik on the App Store or Google Play and join the community.
Source
This article is based on reporting by Ming Pao (明報, 明-GBA), published November 9, 2026, as part of its Shenzhen APEC series. Quotes are translated from Chinese. Photos: Ming Pao.
