Signs of the times as Beijing moves to clean up translations and traffic

Time was when no trip to Beijing would be complete without a visit to the 'Racist Park', an unfortunate mistranslation of 'Ethnic Minorities Park' or when a prostate exam required a consultation at the 'anus and intestinal disease hospital', now reincarnated as the 'hospital for proctology'.

Such ungainly signs have disappeared in recent years as Beijing has sought to introduce standard English translations in time for the Olympics.

In late 2006, the capital went on a mission to standardise the English names of thousands of dishes and drinks on restaurant menus. Super chicken soup and pocked-face lady's tofu (the last too literal a translation of the name of a spicy Sichuanese dish of minced meat and bean curd) were to be discarded in favour of less mysterious and more prosaic descriptions.

Now Bocog, the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, is turning its attention to road signs. In the coming weeks the authorities will install more than 1,000 standard bilingual road signs ahead of the Olympic Games.

In all, 1,366 signs with white lettering on a blue background will be put up in and around the city to guide visitors to gyms and stadiums. About 240 of the signs have been put up so far and, according to a traffic official. The rest will be in place by early next month.

All of the signs were going up between 8pm and midnight to avoid obstructing traffic, the official said, adding that the exercise was the biggest road sign project of any Olympics. The new ones will stay in place after the Games.

The cleanup of road signs is the joint initiative of Beijing traffic authorities and a design team from Bocog. The effort is also aimed at ensuring safe movement of vehicles, people and supplies around the venues over the Games period, according to the Beijing traffic management bureau.