I was back from a reporting trip in Guangzhou, not for the Asian Games if you’re wondering. But four days of staying there made me think that the city is far from ready to host the Games.

Here’s a piece that I wrote for the Global Times about its unreadiness and, in case you don’t have time, my points below as to where the city can further improve itself:

• Taxi service: Do not reject passengers, at least don’t do this five in a row.
• Language help: Build more English signs for the buses, subways, etc., and offer basic English training to restaurant staff.
• Outlaw animal brutality and cat-eating

My friends in Guangzhou think the taxi and language problems can be solved before next November, but I do hope the city can offer more to an ordinary tourist like me with or without the Games, as it’s more about being a modern metropolis than preparing for a sporting event.

The cat-eating thing made me sick. It’s been reported over and over and will likely to remain so until the Guangdong provincial government finds a better animal for replacement, which looks impossible.

Links and Sources:

• WSJ China Real Time: Cats Rescued from Dinner Table Face Uncertain Futures
• Xinhua: 1,300 cats rescued from dinner table
• Global Times: Sloppy services bode ill for Guangzhou’s Asian Games