Wuhan aims to fix translation errors in public spaces

Wuhan city in Central China's Hubei province has engaged in a campaign to identify and correct Chinese-to-English translation errors in the city's public spaces since June.

The campaign aims to improve foreign tourists' experience and is also in preparation for the seventh Military World Games which will take place in Wuhan in October.

Starting July 5, nine professional teams have been conducting translation checks throughout the city. The public is also encouraged to report mistranslated signs.

Inspected sites include the city's three railway stations, an airport, public transportation routes, business districts and popular tourist attractions.

As of July 29, about 16 percent of the 53,050 signs inspected by different institutions had errors. Of the 2,320 signs inspected by professional teams, about 15 had elementary spelling or translation problems. The mistakes included "courtesy seat" mistranslated as "love seat" and "baby care room" as "mother infant room".

The professional teams, following their inspections, compiled lists of mistranslations for each institution and will reinspect them selectively at a proper date.

Zhou Xinzhe in Beijing contributed to the story