MY WORLD AT LARGE: Fun with Chinglish

"Gained in translation" part 2

seen at Shanghai airport:

Disappointingly, they didn't sell pretty girls named Cate – just sugary sweet cakes...

When I sent some of my translation riddles to linguistically inclined friends they answered "Piece of Cate" :-)

Signs on Shanghai metro doors:

In contrast to crowded subways in Mexico, Turkey, Italy, or even Austria, it did not seem to me that women were threatened by pinching hands in China ;-)

Of course I'm generalizing – but the Chinese struck me as generally polite, educated, and civilized.

No wonder that even their parks are civilized:

I'll happily accept suggestions about what could be the idea behind it!

MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS

For the birdwatchers among you: can you spot the national bird of China?

1) Solution see below

Where do wealthy Chinese people have celebrations, and tour groups get taken by their guides ?

A Chinese banquet hall, with a revolving glass plate in the middle of the tables:

Such a banquet will contain all kinds of Chinese food, carefully purged of any dishes that may offend Westerners, such as dog, cat, frog, snake, etc.

8 people at the table – food for at least 12...

Invariably, the banquet would include green tea (limitless), and 1 small glass of the following choice of drinks: Tsingtao beer, Coke/Pepsi, or Sprite (as you can see, all of them highly traditional Chinese beverages, especially the beer, since it was introduced by the Germans already in 1903 ;-)

After dinner, the yuppies will be found drinking coffee in Starbucks and enjoying Häagen Dazs icecream...

Ordinary Chinese people can't splurge on banquets more than once a year, I should think, and probably eat at home most of the time; when they eat fast food, however, you'll see them in the following establishments: