In China, the names of the largest businesses, hotels and highways appear on signs in Chinese and English. Occasionally, our group found, the English message gets an interesting twist. At a rest area on a highway: “Men” on one lavatory and “Femen” on the other. “France Toast” was the highlight at one breakfast, as was “Tick soup with imitation crap-meat” at another. As we waited in long lines to board a cable car, a sign announced: “Excellent tour environment lies on a peaceful social order,” which seemed to be another way of saying, “Stay in line and quit complaining.” Or, on a park office, “Visitor consulting and complaining service.” At one hotel, we asked if there was a bar in the hotel, and we were told that there was not. Then we noticed a sign that said, “Saloon, second floor,” which turned out to be a bar. One hotel offered, among its many services, “Ear deaning,” which we took to be “cleaning.” While riding on our bus, I noticed a “beauty saloon,” along one busy street. And there was this completely straightforward sign in one men’s restroom: “Please get closer to the urinal.”

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