China Telecom, Xizhou, China

This relatively new (in Aug. 2016) painted sign promotes China Telecom's 4G+ LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network. I'm afraid my translation of parts of this sign is a bit hazardous.

天翼 ["Tiān yì" litt. "Sky Wings"]
Surfing
分享无限 [Unlimited Sharing]

全光网省惠民工程
中国电信承建
[The Optical Network Engineering Project Benefit People of All Provinces
China Telecom Construction]

家家通高清电视
户户有光纤宽带
人人月全网通手机
云南省发展和改革委员会       中国电信云南公司
[HDTV for Everyone
Fiber Optic Broadband for All Households
Mobile Phone Network for Everybody
Yunnan Provincial Development and Reform Committee       China Telecom Yunnan Branch]

中国电信
世界触手可及
[China Telecom
Connecting the World*]

* This is China Telecom's official motto in English. The literal translation is "The World is Within Reach."

Location: Xizhou, Yunnan, China

Politics and tourism, Xizhou, China

Two signs await the visitor in a narrow street behind Xizhou Market Square. The first one, partly written with plastic letters stuck to the wall, partly painted, is of a political nature while the second one celebrates part of the town's history.

 共同团结奋斗共同繁荣发展

加强和创新社会管理，建设平安和谐幸福新喜洲
[Work Together for Common Prosperity and Development.
Strong and Innovative Social Management Builds a Peaceful and Harmonious Xizhou]

This is typical Chinese authorities parlance.

全国重点文物保护单位
[Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level]

The site in question is the Yan Family Compound, the original residence of wealthy merchant Yan Zizhen (1871-1941). This beautiful example of early 20th century Bai architecture has now been transformed into a museum well worth a visit.

Apart from the aforementioned line, this sign -a brief description of the building- reads vertically from left to right. "Yan Family Compound" is written in the first column in  red: 严家大院.

It has been painted at the back of the property. The main entrance is on the Market Square.

Location: Xizhou, Yunnan, China

China Post, Xizhou, China

Here is a slightly truncated painted sign for the China Postal Saving Bank, a commercial retail bank set up by the State Post Bureau in 2007.

中国邮政         邮政储蓄

[China Post       Postal Saving]

Originally, the complete second part of this sign would certainly have been:

邮政储蓄银行

[Postal Saving Bank]

Location: Xizhou, Yunnan, China

Twelve socialist core values, Xizhou, China

Painted signs of a political nature are everywhere in China. This example dates from 2014, when the Communist Party of China, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, issued the "12 socialist core values" (in China it is known as the "24" because of the number of characters), as an important step in the construction of the socialist system. The slogan lists those essential values of Chinese socialism that should guide the actions of the government, society and individuals.

富强 民主 文明 和谐 自由 平等

公正 法治 爱国 敬业 诚信 友善

[Prosperity, Democracy, Civilization, Harmony, Freedom, Equality,

Justice, the Rule of Law, Patriotism, Dedication, Integrity and Friendliness]

According to the CPC, prosperity, democracy, civilization and harmony are attached to the state. Freedom, equality, justice and the rule of law should guide Chinese society. As for patriotism, dedication, integrity and friendliness, they are the responsibility of each individual.
The order is quite telling: contrary to Western democracies, where the individual comes first, China focuses first on the state, then society, and the individual comes last.

Location: Xizhou, Yunnan, China

Public phone, Xizhou, China

This curious house, known locally as the Round House (圓樓), used to be Xizhou's highest building. Sadly it is now looks abandoned. I could not find any information about its history but a very simple ghost sign indicates there was once a public phone there.

公用电话

[Public phone] 

The sign is actually written twice, on each side of the door: in two vertical lines to the left, and on a single vertical one on the to the right.

公电

用话

Location: Xizhou, Yunnan, China

Fire Prevention Strategy, Advice No. 4, Xizhou, China

This sign is part of the Chinese authorities' fire prevention strategy, which includes twelve precautionary meaures. It represents the fourth advice (see them all here). In a small rural town such as Xizhou, where stoves are widely used, it is particularly relevant.

炉灶附近不放置可燃易燃物品，炉灰完全熄灭后

再倾倒，草垛要远离房屋.

[Do Not Place Inflammable Items Near Stoves, Make Sure Ashes Are Completely Cold Before Disposal, Keep Stacks of Hay Outside the House]

Location: Xizhou, Yunnan, China

Protect Arable Land for the Benefit of the Children, Xizhou, China

This week features a series of painted signs from Xizhou, a small town in the province of Yunnan, China, famous for its well preserved Bai architecture. As can be expected in China, advertising, political slogans, and various pieces of public information can be found on the walls.

The slogan below reminds people of the importance of preserving agricultural land for future generations. The sentence first appeared in official publications in the early 2010s and highlights one of China's growing problems: the increasing pollution of its land and water resources, and the ensuing challenge to feed its population.

保护耕地, 造福子孙!

[Protect Arable Land for the Benefit of the Children!]

Location: Xizhou, Yunnan, China

Painted sign, Yangdi (2)

Many painted signs can be seen across rural China and the small village of Yangdi on the western bank of the River Li, between Guilin and Yangshuo, is no exception. Several signs are of a political nature but a few are adverts for Chinenes companies.
This is the case of the painted sign below. Political messages tend to be much more sober. Unfortunately I haven't managed to identify which company is advertised on this wall. The only character I could recognise is the one on the left on the first line: "guó", which means "country."

Location: Yangdi, Guangxi province, China / Picture taken in September 2009

Konica Minolta, Istanbul (and its electric counterpart, Beijing)

Even though I didn't see many painted signs in Istanbul (about one a day on average over one week, but that includes a couple of real gems!), I spotted the first one shortly after arriving in the city, while on my way to the hotel from the Eminönü pier. By then it was dark but a couple of days later I passed there again just as the buildings nearby were about to cast a shadow on it.
The location chosen for this Konica Minolta sign was not surprising: the streets near the northern end of Ankara Caddesi (Avenue) are full of shops selling cameras and photographic equipment.

Konica Minolta
A combination of poor quality paint and local weather conditions make this sign look older than it is. Indeed Konica Minolta was only formed in 2003 when the two Japanese companies Konica and Minolta merged. In 2006, after heavy financial losses, the corporation announced it was selling its camera business to Sony and from then on was concentrating on its products for businesses rather than for the general public.


The new company's logo is an updated version of the Minolta logo unveiled in 1981. By then there were only four lines instead of five across the 'Globe Mark' that took the place of the letter 'O' on the cameras' body.

Location: Ankara Caddesi, Eminönü, Istanbul / Pictures taken on: 14/06/2011

This fading sign in Istanbul was a far cry from the bright electric sign that dominates the corner of Wangfujing Dajie, Beijing's main shopping street, and Dong'anmen Dajie in the centre of the Chinese capital.


Location: Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng Disctrict, Beijing / Picture taken on: 07/09/2009

Painted sign, Yangdi (1)

If anyone knows what these elaborately-painted Chinese characters mean, please let me know. This sign clearly points in one direction, but what is there?


Location: Yangdi, Guangxi province, China / Picture taken on: 17/09/2009

A Chinese painted sign

Even though the sun is shining today, more cold and grey weather is forecasted for the days to come... So, hoping that would make temperatures rise, here is a sign I photographed in southern China. That day we had almost forty degrees and humidity was high. Not the best time for going cycling but the absolutely amazing surrounding landscape of karst peaks rising above rice paddies was defintitely worth the sweat.


Unfortunately my Chinese is pretty non-existent so I can't translate what has been painted on this wall. I think the two characters on the left mean "China". I would assume this is an ad (but not for China Mobile or China Telecom. I can usually recognize these) rather than a political slogan. Political slogans composed and painted by local government officials on village walls to promote the party's policies and campaigns can be found all over rural China but they tend to be rather simple, with usually only one colour, often black or white. Here we've got two on a white background!
If anyone can offer a translation through the comment box, I'd be most grateful :-)

Location: Jiuxian, Guangxi province, China / Picture taken on: 18/09-2009