“The bridge, what’s left of it a well preserved and a popular tourist attraction, ends abruptly in a mass of twisted metal about half way across the river, a abundance of Chinese flags, piped revolutionary music and a huge screen looping Korea War footage there to accompany you as you peer the rest of the way into the curiosity that is North Korea, the world’s very last Stalinist dictatorship.”
“It’s people getting in my way, always in my fuckin’ way, as is their want; it’s their country, after all, and I’m the impostor. It’s barriers and mass crowd control. It’s a very visible police presence and people in officialdom… seemingly standing around doing absolutely nothing while actually policing subjugation and overseeing mass societal conformity…It’s basically the same as it always was, the ever-present push to modernise aside, on this my 7th visit to the capital of the world’s superpower wannabe…”
The meaning is rarely in doubt but the translation leaves a lot to be desired. A collection of humourous signs encountered on a recent trip to China.
Recapping a sixth visit to mainland China – including the capital Beijing & the two largest cities in the northeastern & northwestern extremes of the country, Harbin & Urumqi respectively – en route to pastures new in Kazakhstan & Central Asia.
