As 2011 begins, Guangzhou is enjoying a moment of peace after November's Asian Games and the Asian Para Games last month. Traffic restrictions have been lifted and security checks on the subway removed. But traces of the Games remain on the city's streets - and they are embarrassing.
Guangzhou's budget for Games projects, including stadiums, roads and subway lines, was 122.6 billion yuan (HK$144.3 billion), though many believe the real cost was double that. Already, even the official budget is roughly five times South Africa's expenditure on the soccer World Cup in June and July and a third more than London's GBP9 billion (HK$108.3 billion) budget for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Many Guangzhou residents criticised the government for going over the top with its massive construction efforts and the tight security measures it imposed to ensure a safe event.
And yet, after such astronomical spending on infrastructure upgrades, the building of state-of-the art stadiums and landmarks and streetscape beautification, officials bungled on the very basics of English translation, with the errors on display across the city.
In the lead-up to the Games, what made an online hit was a series of photographs taken by residents showing fundamental language mistakes on road signs in the rush to beat the Asian Games deadline.
Take Guangzhou East Station, a key railway hub that connects the city to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The station's outdated facilities were upgraded a year before the Asian Games. A year on, the new direction signs continue to point passengers towards 'texis'.
Local media reported the city government spent 25 million yuan in March to upgrade more than 3,000 road signs and rid them of any unclear or misleading information. Yet, basic English translation mistakes remain common.