外国人免签入境过境旅游 咱们路标做好准备了吗?Truly Confusing: Tourist Signs in English, Pinyin, and Chinglish

虽然在中国境内，绝大部分的人是以中文为母语的中国大陆地区公民，但是中国又很有必要把自己文化历史向世界介绍，无论是小村庄，还是大宫殿。国家推出部分外国人免签入境过境政策，有相当多的国际友人都来到中国游览。

然而，接待外宾的一个较为严重的问题就是双语标识问题，包括高速公路和市区的指引标识。当然，这一方面，有完全规范的中英双语标识，在此应当点赞。

On Chinese territory, the vast majority of people will be mainland citizens of China, best versed in the Chinese language. However, China is also very much interested in introducing its story — its legacy, history, culture, and the like — to the world, be it villages or palaces alike. The Chinese government’s visa-free policy concerning short visits and/or transits is a beneficial move which has attracted a lot of foreign nationals.

However, signage remains an issue when it comes to getting people from abroad there. You see these on motorways and in cities alike. Some are perfectly bilingual…

这个标识是在接近北京房山区附近的河北高速公路上发现的，但是距离这个标识不远处，是另外一处标识。

而且这一方面不仅是没有进行中英翻译，直接是上了汉语拼音，而且是字体小外加全程大写，汉语拼音是按照汉字使用空格分开写。其实这样做，很容易让人「摸不清南北」— 同一条公路上又出现中英文，又出现拼音，是不规范的。

…such as this sign not far from southwestern Beijing, in Hebei.

This doesn’t mean it’s all perfect, though; some miles away, there’s another sign which is fully in Hanyu Pinyin, uses spaces after each character, and is, worryingly, IN ALL CAPS. This is in actual fact how you make people confused — put a bilingual sign by the road one moment, then force an ALL-PINYIN ALL CAPS SIGN a few miles away.

That says something — the lack of order and standardisation...

但是最严重的，还是带有「中式英文」的。灾难性的唐山大地震，在 1976 发生，后来建了一个抗震纪念馆。这里是描述极其痛苦历史的地方，带有深重悲伤的地方，十分严肃。

然而，部分标识将其严重错误地翻译为 “Anti-Earthquake Memorial”。这个意思在英文，就是 “反对地震”、“打倒地震” 的意思，极其不妥。这里需要明确的是，中文的「抗震」中的「抗」意思，重点是「抗震救灾」，而不是「喊着 “打倒地震!”」的意思。这种啼笑皆非，带有严重问标识的正确的英文要结合所在地，改为 Tangshan Earthquake Memorial Hall。

But far worse than this is Chinglish.

The 1976 Tangshan Earthquake was utter hell, and a horrendous disaster for the city. They built a museum about the museum — a solemn, serious place, showing visitors how the shocking calamity brought devastation and tragedy.

A serious place for a sombre part of the city’s history. The wayfinding, though, was a different calibre of wrong. Where it was supposed to say Tangshan Earthquake Memorial Hall, you instead saw ANTI-EARTHQUAKE MEMORIAL.

It sends the kinds of triggers in you that is a mix of hysterical laughter, immense fury, and sadness at the same time. Suffice it to say, it was not a place about anti-seismic experiments, or a whole city being “anti-earthquake” (as in a movement). It would also be not apt to showcase this place as a place of “anti-earthquake sentiment”, quite literally. The “anti-“ (抗) bit was more about Earthquake Recovery and Relief, rather than shaking fists at Mother Nature.

外国人来华免签入境过境，有利于外国人自助了解一个真实的中国。然而，这些不妥误译，在一些地方不仅没有帮倒忙，甚至于「帮了倒忙」。

政策的「硬件」已经在实施，我们需要做的，就是把相应的语言「软件」更新到位。如果在泰国、美国、新西兰都能看到中文标识，外国植物园特意又提供中文自助导游服务，那中国也需要为来华的外国游客做好外语服务。

The signs (literally) are mixed. Although the visa exemption policy is good for China, it clearly shows that some signs fall through. Some are unhelpful; some are outright wrong.

At this time when hardware, so to speak, allowing for visa-free visits or transits is active, we need to upgrade the software — the signage, too. At a time when you can clearly see Chinese language at tourist attractions elsewhere, be it in Thailand, the USA, or New Zealand, and where places offer Mandarin self-service guides, China should make the same happen for tourists from abroad. After all, it works best if it works well both ways!