Beijing has launched a campaign to correct its "Chinglish", or Chinese-style English, on bilingual signs as part of its make-over for the 2008 Olympic Games.The Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau has issued a regulation requiring correct English signs as one of the most important criteria for unrated hotels to qualify as official accommodation providers.
The regulation requires hotels to translate their names, service hours, room rates, and notices for guests into accurate English. They should also provide signs and menus in correct English.
Bloody hell - that's more than they do in Sydney but I digress -
Xinhua cites some examples of "Chinglish".
* some hotels misuse "scatter" for "evacuate" in their emergency information.
* tobacco shops still advertise the sale of "smoke" instead of cigarettes
* the Park of Ethnic Minorities is identified as the "Racist Park"
* drivers are warned of the hazards of a wet road with a sign that reads: "The slippery are very crafty."
That reminds me of a classic instance in Sydney when a female toilet had the normal, "Women" sign on the door, with a cleaner's sign underneath saying, "slippery when wet".
