So Long, Racist Park

A headline in today's China Daily reads: "Unclear Signs in English to be History." I feel like I've read this headline before. Many times. The gist is that in order to prepare for the Olympics, the city is going to wage a campaign against the creative translations in public signage that have delighted tourists and exchange students for decades.

What was striking about this particular article was its understatement. It explained that:

Toilet will replace W.C. (or water closet) and "Exit" signs will stop "Export"-ing people or showing them their "Way Out".

These are just a few of the inappropriate and embarrassing signs in English that will be changed to make life more convenient for foreigners in Beijing, especially those expected for the 2008 Olympics Games.

I love that the only examples given are of already perfectly standard English, as though all that's needed is a teency tweak or two and the city will be funny sign-free.
Fortunately, it's not quite that simple.

Though I miss the sign that designated an ethnic minorities theme park near the Olympic stadium "Racist Park," I'm cheered--and kept in line--by the plaque next to the fire extinguisher outside my front door reminding me that "Embezzlement is Strictly Prohibited." I don't slip on the floor of the bathroom at a neighborhood Sichuan restaurant because of notices warning me "Crumbly. Take care." And though I can read the Chinese on a sign telling me my favorite trail to the Great Wall is closed, I've hiked it anyway, emboldened by the more ambiguous wording of the English injunction: