A supplier that became a fixture.
We found the contacts, checked the relationship was sound, and sat through the negotiation. He still treats it as standing.
- Vetted contacts
- Standing fixture
Mark Tilley, Australia · 2019 & 2024
Selina Chen 陈丽明 EN ⇄ 中文 · Xiamen · Trade & sourcing Book a Xiamen interpreter for the Stone Fair.for CIFIT.for Dehua ceramics.for factory visits.for tea sourcing.
Xiamen is home base: an English-Chinese interpreter for the Stone Fair, CIFIT, and Fujian's stone, tea, ceramics and building-materials trade, with the shortest lead time I offer.
★★★★★ 4.8/5 · 95 client reviews · clients from every continent
Shuitou / Nan'anstone-processing beltQuanzhou & Jinjiangshoes, garments, materialsDehua kilnsporcelain & figurinesFujian building materialsstone, tile, ceramicsHokkien (Minnan)spoken on site
Xiamen rates, published, all-in USD
Published rates, answered first.
Every rate includes city travel and a written summary of each day. No hourly creep. No surprise “translation fees.”
Half day
One supplier meeting or a short factory visit · ≤ 4 hrs
$80–$140/half-day
- City travel included
- Pre-meeting product brief
- Written summary same evening
Most bookedCheck dates
Full day
Trade shows, factory visits, negotiations
$99–$250/day
- Hotel-lobby pickup, on time
- Suppliers pre-screened before you land
- Daily written record of agreements
Multi-day
Several days end-to-end, best value
$800–$1,250/ week
- Discounted day rate
- Post-trip supplier follow-up
- Priority booking next season
Starting ranges, every job quoted to your itinerary. 30% deposit confirms a booking; balance after the work.
What's included
Every day rate, all-in.
Here's exactly what's in the day rate before you ask.
- City and inter-city travel between meetings included
- Suppliers pre-screened before you land
- A written record of the spec and the grade, same evening
- Stone, ceramic and tea-grade notes you can act on from abroad
On the ground in Xiamen
An English-Chinese interpreter and translator in Xiamen.
Xiamen is my home base, so lead time here is days, not weeks. Fujian's trade is specific: the Xiamen International Stone Fair (March) is the world's largest stone exhibition, drawing the Shuitou/Nan'an stone belt; CIFIT (September) is one of China's biggest investment fairs; Dehua is a centuries-old ceramics and porcelain centre; and Quanzhou and Jinjiang next door are a dense shoe, garment and building-materials cluster.
Add the tea trade and you have a region where most foreign buyers never see the real supplier base because they can't get past the language. Hokkien (Minnan) is the mother tongue here and still the working language in many family-run factories.
Recent work
What the work actually looks like.
Real deals in and around Xiamen, deal type, where, and what the client walked away with.
Protocol wording that landed exactly.
Three days for a US delegation with the Jinjiang government ahead of two sporting events. Both sides had to land word for word.
- Protocol-level
- Word for word
Nels Hawkinson, Deputy Head of Delegation, USA Team · 2019
Where the price really sat, read live.
Worked the Stone Fair floor with a European buyer, opening talks with local traders. No phrase app was going to read the terms.
- On the floor
- Terms read live
Richard Timmermans · 2016
One fixed interpreter across three trips.
Sourced electronics, stone and footwear factories and interpreted the QC visits, then stayed on as the fixed interpreter after.
- QC visits
- Fixed across trips
John Binky, USA · 2016
How booking works
From first message to factory floor.
Lead time: Often just a few days here, Xiamen is home base; still book 4-6 weeks ahead for the Stone Fair and CIFIT.
01
Send your dates
WhatsApp, WeChat or the form. Tell me cities, dates, and what you're buying.
T+0 02
Fixed quote
A written quote in USD within 12 hours. 30% deposit locks your dates.
T+12 HRS 03
I prepare
Product list studied, venue mapped, suppliers pre-screened before your flight lands.
BEFORE ARRIVAL 04
On the ground
Hotel-lobby pickup every morning. Written summary of everything agreed, every evening.
YOUR TRIPFAQ
Xiamen interpreter, your questions.
What is Fujian best known for sourcing?
Stone and stone machinery (the Stone Fair and the Shuitou/Nan'an belt), ceramics and porcelain (Dehua), tea, footwear and garments (Quanzhou/Jinjiang), and building materials. I cover all of them from Xiamen.
How quickly can you start in Xiamen?
Faster than anywhere else I work, this is home base. A few days' notice is often enough, though trade-fair weeks like the Stone Fair and CIFIT still fill up, so book ahead for those.
Can you travel to Quanzhou, Jinjiang and Dehua from Xiamen?
Yes, regularly. They're a short drive and I plan supplier visits as a loop so a single trip covers several factories instead of one.
What does a day cost, and is home base any cheaper?
The rates are published above and they hold wherever I work: $80–$140 half-day, $99–$250 a day, $800–$1,250 a week. Being based in Xiamen doesn't change the rate, it changes the extras, no flights or hotels to pass on for Fujian jobs, and inter-city travel to Quanzhou or Dehua is already inside the day rate.
Are you connected to the factories you take me to?
No. I take no cut from the stone yards, Dehua kilns or Jinjiang factories I introduce, you pay me and that is the whole arrangement. It means I can tell you when a Shuitou trader is reselling another yard's slabs rather than cutting their own. See product sourcing.
When I book you, is it actually you on the job?
Yes. On home ground especially, you get me, the person whose work log this is, not a stand-in. For a large delegation like the US government group I interpreted for in Jinjiang, I bring in trusted colleagues, but the default is one interpreter who knows Fujian.
Keep reading
Where to next.
Next step
Your dates in Xiamen. My quote in 12 hours.
Send your Xiamen supplier list and dates. You'll get a fixed written quote, no obligation, no deposit to ask.
superinterpreter · selina@mychinainterpreter.com · Xiamen, China · UTC+8
