Language Log

Public notice in a ward in Tainan, Taiwan:

(Source)

Jenny Chu sent in this photograph of an ad on a Hong Kong subway car:

A friend was visiting in Lijiang, Yunnan Province (southwestern China) earlier this week.  She stayed in Yuhu 玉湖 village where Joseph Rock (1884-1962; the famous Austrian-American explorer, geographer, linguist, and botanist) lived nearly a century ago at the foot of Yulong 玉龙 Mountain.  The area around Lijiang has become a famous tourist destination, not only for the beauty of its natural scenery, but for the richness of its local culture (more about that below).  While in Lijiang, my friend was surprised to come upon signs for unisex toilets:

Here is some signage for such toilets in China:

From June Teufel Dreyer:

Mandy Chan saw this sign on Weibo (a major Chinese microblogging website) and challenged me to translate it:

A sign warning against uncivilized behavior in the main bazaar in Urumqi, the capital of China's Xinjiang region (Bloomberg):

From Yixue Yang:

Sign in Beihai Municipality, Guangxi Province that is circulating on WeChat:

Photo taken in the reception area of a hospital:

(Source)

Sign at the high-end Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao:

From Bobby Shore:

Anne Henochowicz spotted this sign in a shopping mall in Central, Hong Kong:

Anthony Clayden wonders whether there is "some visual pun going on with the Chinese characters" in the design of the symbol of the TRA, which "features a rail profile inscribed within two semi-circles."