How Kunming is marketing itself in English
As international travel and business interest in China's second- and third-tier cities grows, increasing number of cities around China are producing English-language promotional platforms and materials aimed at reaching a broader international audience - primarily via the internet.
Kunming is no different. Last year as part of the launch of its Chinese-language Kunming Information Hub website, it also unveiled its most competent English-language website to date – en.kunming.cn.
Much of en.kunming.cn, which doesn't have an English name, is translated content from its sister site or aggregated content from other sources such as the China Daily. It has also republished copious amounts of content from GoKunming – without linking back to the source story on GoKunming.
In addition to text content, en.kunming.cn also features a promotional video with the semi-Chinglish title 'I'm Kunming' (我在昆明) (see first half of the video above, second half here), in which an actor portraying a presumably American photographer narrates his thoughts while experiencing some of the more quintessential Kunming experiences and destinations.
As one local government BBS summarizes the promo video:
A photographer, with a boring and perlexed [sic] mind, came to work at Kunming,the "Spring City" in southern China. While rambling in the fabulous and affectionate city, he was shocked and set out to look for the lost love...
Shortly after arriving in Kunming, the photographer is sitting in his room reading what appears to be a local newspaper called 'What's Kunming', which bears an uncanny resemblance to how GoKunming's 'About Kunming' page looked in late 2007 (note to whoever made the video: newspapers don't have login boxes).
It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – GoKunming is sincerely flattered.
This article was posted by Chris and published March 18, 2009
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