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    In Shenzhen, he said: “Tax refund documentation is not accepted yet. If an expat client comes to the tax office for an explanation or consultation on tax law, he has to hire an interpreter,” said Zhang.

    “These inconveniences are all the ‘boundaries’ for Shenzhen to become an international city,” Zhang said.

    An employee of China Construction Bank in Shenzhen, Lin Xuan, told Shenzhen Daily yesterday that “Lonely Planet” — the largest travel guide publisher in the world — only mentions Shenzhen as a place where Hong Kong people come for massages and says its safety is not good, which indicates Shenzhen is still not well-known to the world.

    Recent additions of Lonely Planet have mentioned more than that about Shenzhen, but its coverage is still incredibly small in comparison to other cities of its size.

    While all the contestants looked forward to an international Shenzhen, British Nicholas Phillips, one of the judges, said he is impressed by the English-speaking environment in the city.

    “I think a lot of young people are interested in learning English. There are a lot of language schools now,” said Phillips.

    “It’s not that difficult to find people who can speak English here. A lot of young people can speak English and certainly they are able to help a foreigner who needs help,” he said.

    Phillips added that the speech competition is an excellent idea to promote English.

    “I’m glad to see that Shenzhen has taken a long and serious approach (to improve) the English level,” he said.

    Shenzhen’s Party chief Wang Rong encouraged local residents to speak English at the end of the competition.

    “I’d like to encourage all citizens to learn English and speak English, so that Shenzhen will have no barriers to international communication and keep no distance to the rest of the world,” Wang said in English.