Preparations are underway for the G20 Summit in Hangzhou Province. (Photo : Getty Images)
Timothy Clancy is an Australian married to a Chinese and a student at Zheijang University. He teaches English as a volunteer for the summit.
He said, "Australia has hosted such a summit before, but I never imagined that people in the host city could be so hospitable. "I want to be part of this great event through the English classes and express my own welcome."
People of all ages come to Clancy's class. One of them is Zhao Jihong, a 67-year-old resident of Zhejiang.
He said, "I am learning English here just in case I come across foreigners so that I can at least say 'hi' to welcome them to Hangzhou."
This is the first time that Hangzhou Province will host an international event of this magnitude. Preparations are underway in the province as well as in Shanghai and Jiangsu Province.
The Communist Party chief in Hangzhou, Zhang Yide, said, "All services, including dining, transportation and security are in place. Hangzhou is now ready to host the two-day summit and welcome its distinguished guests."
Food preparations are now being done. According to Zhou, 900 tons of food is now being stored up in a warehouse with an area of 7450 square meters. Food will be examined and stored in this facility.
The delegation of the G20 summit will be transported by 900 vehicles and 2,000 drivers.
Security detail is extensive as a patrol group with 760,000 troops will be within the area.
In Shanghai, 255 factories were ordered to shut operations before and during the summit. The government order was issued to lessen pollution during the event. The shutdown will take effect from Aug. 26 to Sept. 9.
The government issued a similar order when China hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) meeting and during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
This is the second time that China will be hosting an international meeting under the term of President Xi Jinping.
