China’s travellers raise alarm over error-filled tourist signs in public spaces

Passengers share examples on social media of mistranslations and spelling errors, along with concern at the effect on the country’s image A highway operator in Gansu province, northwestern China, apologised on Wednesday after a service area sign for the hot water room, mistranslated in English as “open water rooms”, was shared on social media. Similar translation errors, as well as spelling mistakes, on signage at public facilities have repeatedly drawn attention, including an incident in late March, when a passenger at an airport in the southwestern city of Guiyang discovered multiple misspellings. The mistranslation of the bilingual sign at the Yuanyang service area on the Lianyungang-Khorgos Expressway was revealed in a social media post on Tuesday. A day later, the Gansu Expressway Service Group issued an official notice to say the incorrect English sign had been removed, and “special inspections and rectifications of signs across all service areas managed by the company” would be carried out.

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