Beijing Olympics visitors go high-tech to avoid getting lost in translation

A Chinese server uses a translation device to communicate with a foreign guest at the Green Dragon restaurant inside the Olympics closed loop in Zhangjiakou, China. — Reuters

ZHANGJIAKOU, China: Businesses at the Beijing Olympics are getting around the language barrier by using high-tech apps and a smartphone-like device to translate from Mandarin Chinese and keep the tills ringing.

Though China’s “zero Covid” policy has stopped the influx of sports fans who would normally be cheering on their favourites, there are still thousands of athletes, coaches, journalists and technicians in China with money to burn.