Want to invite a foreigner to spend the Spring Festival in your home? An increasing number of Shenzhen residents are doing just that, reports Yangcheng Evening News.

The Foreign Affairs Office of the Shenzhen Municipal Government has had to open an additional hotline to handle all the calls from local residents wanting to register for the special home-stay scheme since it began receiving applicants last Friday.

The event, the first of its kind in Shenzhen, is being introduced at the requests of scores of foreigners currently studying, working and doing business in the Chinese special economic zone.

Local residents who want to invite a foreigner to their home for the festival must have enough room to accommodate their visitors, have access to a car and be able to speak simple English or Japanese.

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