US opens expanded consulate facility in booming Guangzhou_美文

US opens expanded consulate facility in booming Guangzhou

A visa applicant usually needs about 30 minutes to complete an interview in the new facility, and an applicant usually waits about five days for an interview after the application has been submitted.

In 2013, 1.52 million non-immigration US visa applications were handled in China, Hebert said.

Chen Yunxian, deputy governor of Guangdong province, said he hopes the new US consulate general in Guangzhou will play an even bigger part in boosting ties between the United Sates and Guangdong in the coming years.

Guangdong, which borders the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, is the largest provincial economy on the Chinese mainland and a manufacturing center for products as diverse as iPhones and ceramics. If it were a country, the province would be the 16th-largest economy, after South Korea and ahead of Indonesia and the Netherlands.

Questions:

1. When did the US Consulate in Guangzhou open?

2. How many square meters is the new facility?

3. How much did the US consulate cost to build?

Answers:

1. On Wednesday.

2. 18,000.

3. $267 million.

About the broadcaster:

Lance Crayon is a videographer and editor with China Daily. Since living in Beijing he has worked for China Radio International (CRI) and Global Times. Before moving to China he worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as a talent agent and producer. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.