Many Chicago attractions in the last five years have added amenities in Mandarin, the principal Chinese dialect, to serve Chinese visitors. The Field Museum, for example, offers a map of its exhibit halls in Mandarin.
There are Mandarin guides to Millennium Park, a great favorite among Chinese visitors, and to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park. Macy's department stores offer "savings passes" in Mandarin. The Wendella boat cruises' Web site has a Mandarin section listing its schedules and prices. The John Hancock Tower offers a Mandarin language audio guide to its observation deck.
"This lake is a great attraction for Chinese people," said Wang Suqi, a visitor from Beijing looking down on Lake Michigan from the Hancock last week. "It seems as vast as an ocean."
Wang, 58, was touring the city with a group of Chinese travel agents to better familiarize themselves with Chicago's attractions. Chinese culture helped explain his fascination with the lake.
"For us, water symbolizes luck and hope, and it symbolizes money," he said.
Most Chinese coming to Chicago in the past have combined tourism with business and convention trips, Wang said. They return home impressed with the city's architecture, museums, music, dining and shopping, he said.
It also doesn't hurt that two airlines, United and American, now fly nonstop daily between O'Hare International Airport and China.
There are Mandarin guides to Millennium Park, a great favorite among Chinese visitors, and to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park. Macy's department stores offer "savings passes" in Mandarin. The Wendella boat cruises' Web site has a Mandarin section listing its schedules and prices. The John Hancock Tower offers a Mandarin language audio guide to its observation deck.
"This lake is a great attraction for Chinese people," said Wang Suqi, a visitor from Beijing looking down on Lake Michigan from the Hancock last week. "It seems as vast as an ocean."
Wang, 58, was touring the city with a group of Chinese travel agents to better familiarize themselves with Chicago's attractions. Chinese culture helped explain his fascination with the lake.
"For us, water symbolizes luck and hope, and it symbolizes money," he said.
Most Chinese coming to Chicago in the past have combined tourism with business and convention trips, Wang said. They return home impressed with the city's architecture, museums, music, dining and shopping, he said.
It also doesn't hurt that two airlines, United and American, now fly nonstop daily between O'Hare International Airport and China.
