China tries to stamp out dodgy English

Can you do better than this sign photographed near Chongqing city, China. Photo / supplied

The Chinese city of Shanghai has started a campaign to stamp out indecipherable English.

Long a source of amusement to travellers, local authorities now deem signs in odd English an embarrassment, according to the BBC.

Student volunteers have been assigned to check signs all over the city and to let bureaucrats know when they spot something confusing or just plain wrong.

Examples found by the London Telegraph include transport signs saying: "If you take the phone on your waistband, as if to send money to the thief" and "If you are stolen, call the police at once".

Another example posted by a blogger for a promotional sign in the Jing-An area of the city states: "Jing-An make us much warmer and fragranter."

- NZ HERALD STAFF