{"id":61,"date":"2012-03-16T23:27:22","date_gmt":"2012-03-16T23:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raziazmi.com\/?p=61"},"modified":"2020-07-12T10:27:02","modified_gmt":"2020-07-12T10:27:02","slug":"xinjiang-tibet-and-nepal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raziazmi.com\/?p=61","title":{"rendered":"Xinjiang, Tibet and Nepal"},"content":{"rendered":"

They call it the \u201croof of the world\u201d for a good reason.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Standing there was a very down to earth experience, for everything about Tibet makes one feel earthly, small and weak.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But before I tell readers about my encounter with Tibet, I should begin where my trip began, at Islamabad airport.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Flying into China \u2013 with Pakistani \u201cbusinessmen\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My first exposure to the international wing of the airport of Pakistan\u2019s capital city was an embarrassment. The passenger processing areas are very crammed and badly maintained, but the real surprise was the departure lounge.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Its pathetic look aside, the only passage leading from there to the aircraft was signposted not as a \u201cgate\u201d (which is standard airport terminology) but as an \u201cexit\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>And lest someone thought it was a \u201cgate\u201d, the Urdu translation (<\/span>baahar janay ka rasta<\/span><\/em>) was supposed to leave no one in any doubt that it was an exit door, which it wasn\u2019t.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Common sense told passengers that the \u201cexit\u201d led to the aircraft, despite the sign.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>No announcements were being made on the public address system.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Rather, a uniformed PIA employee was walking around randomly asking people if they were bound for Heathrow on flight 785 and advising them to board, pointing them in the direction of the \u201cexit\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This went on for over 20-25 minutes before any announcement was made on the PA system, by which time everyone had boarded the plane anyway.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My destination was Urumchi, the administrative capital of China\u2019s western province of Xinjiang, flying China Southern Airlines.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Nearly all the passengers on this flight were either Chinese working in Pakistan or Pakistanis doing business in China, though few of them looked like genuine businessmen.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Nearly all the Pakistani \u201cbusinessmen\u201d were dressed in the standard shalwar-kameez, many had large unkempt beards, some looked fearsome.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The man sitting next to me in his shirt and trousers looked more sophisticated than the rest, but the same cannot be said of his views.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He said he was doing business in Yi Wu, a town not far from Shanghai, where there were many Pakistanis like him.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He had a poor opinion of his fellow Pakistani \u201cbusinessmen\u201d on the plane, saying they were defaming their country.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This gentleman, let\u2019s call him Shafqat, had a Muslim wife in China, besides the one back home in Pakistan.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He had studied for a few years at the Jamia Salafia (Salafist University) in Islamabad but did not finish the full course of studies.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Hearing his views, I thought it was an act of mercy from God that Shafqat didn\u2019t graduate.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>For if he did, Shafqat would not be doing business in China but would rather have busied himself in holy war to cleanse the Islamic Republic of Pakistan of \u201cdeviants\u201d (<\/span>mushrik) <\/span><\/em>and \u201cinfidels\u201d (<\/span>kuffar<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

According to Shafqat, 80 per cent of Pakistanis are not Muslims, and that included his parents, whom, under Allah\u2019s guidance, he had now restored to the right path. And the reason for this was not that many Pakistanis do not pray and fast as regularly as they should, but rather because they engaged in \u201c<\/span>shirk<\/span><\/em>\u201d by worshipping saints and tombs.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Shafqat viewed Christians of the West as <\/span>kafirs<\/span><\/em> (infidels) and not as <\/span>ahle kitab <\/span><\/em>(people of the book).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I have heard this view before, which argues that as contemporary Christians have abandoned religion, they no longer qualify for this honour. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Shafqat\u2019s position, however, was different and new to me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>According to him, after the revelation of the Holy Quran was completed, it became the only authentic <\/span>kitab<\/span><\/em> \u2013 the only book in town, so to say \u2013 and anyone who did not accept it as such was no longer <\/span>ahle kitab.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And, finally, Shafqat quoted from Quran and Hadith to assert that Jews and Christians cannot be friends of Muslims.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I pointed out that there are numerous examples of Christians, Jews, Hindus and others of supporting Muslim causes, besides cultivating personal friendships with Muslims.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I also emphasized the need for tolerance, respect and coexistence between followers of different faiths for the sake of peace on earth.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>While in general agreement with my view on this, he explained, almost with a touch of sadness, that regardless of such considerations of personal relationships, good citizenship and peaceful coexistence, it would be sinful for Muslims to engage in what was forbidden.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My conversation with Shafqat made my heart sink in despair, although the view below from my window seat was such as to make my spirit soar.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Snow-capped peaks rising above the clouds and rivers of ice plunging into valleys as far as the eye could see \u2013 the view was as inspiring as the words of my interlocutor were mortifying. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With the aircraft cruising above the lofty and majestic peaks of the Karakorum, I wondered about the likes of Shafqat, tens of millions of them, living in pits of ignorance while availing of the wonderful inventions of science \u2013 jet planes, computers, internet and mobile phones, to mention only a few, as well as taking advantage of the business opportunities on offer in a globalised world, regardless of race or religion.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We landed at the new Urumchi airport, which must be larger than Karachi airport.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>As soon as I turned after filling the disembarkation card, I noticed a queue behind me, of the many Pakistani \u201cbusinessmen\u201d who were too illiterate to fill out the forms in English and wanted me to do it for them.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Worried that I might miss my connecting flight to Kashgar, I decided I could not oblige and hurried to collect my luggage.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the event, the baggage took a long time coming, although ours was the only international flight at the time.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I surmised that as the flight had arrived from the \u201cLand of the Pure\u201d, all baggage was highly suspect and, therefore, closely inspected before being allowed in.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After a short flight from Urumchi, I was in Kashgar, a major town on the road to Pakistan, and the second largest city in Xinjiang.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>China\u2019s Muslim-majority western province covers a sixth of the country and is twice the size of Pakistan.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Both culturally and geographically, it is a country within a country, like Tibet.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>In custom, cuisine and tradition, it is more Central Asian than Chinese.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Published in Daily Times, 23 January 2011)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Xinjiang \u2013 China\u2019s Muslim west<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Uighur language is written in the Arabic script, although it is a variant of Turkish which is now written in the Roman script.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Uighur too was written in the Roman script from 1969 to 1983, when China\u2019s leader Deng Xiaoping very cleverly restored to the Uighur Muslims their beloved Arabic script.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The Uighurs rejoiced, oblivious to the fact that the loss of the Roman script deprived them of their natural advantage in learning English compared to their Han Chinese compatriots.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kashgar has a provincial look although the airport is fairly large and modern.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The city is predominantly Uighur, unlike the provincial capital Urumchi, which is a burgeoning, busy metropolis where the ethnic Han Chinese predominate. Western tourists converge on the Chini Bagh hotel in Kashgar, while Pakistani \u201cbusinessmen\u201d can be seen hanging around in lesser hotels in their favourite shalwar kameez.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My local guide in Urumchi, a fluent English-speaking Uighur Muslim, told me with some trepidation that the Pakistanis had a very bad reputation, being regarded as uncouth and aggressive and always ready to make advances to local women, no matter their thick and long beards and Islamic pretensions.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was late July and the markets and pavements were full of grapes, peaches and many varieties of melons, some of which I have not seen elsewhere.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Sadly, no-one had the business acumen to sell cut portions of cold melon or juices.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>One may only buy whole, hot melons, sometimes portions of it, but never cold.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This was the pattern throughout China \u2013 even in Shanghai you can only buy flavoured bottled drinks, sometimes cold, but fresh fruit juice or cut fruits, cold or not, are never sold.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In this respect, other countries can learn from Thailand, where portions of mangoes, papayas, pineapples and other tropical fruits, cold, clean and nicely packaged, are sold off the streets.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>For the best fruit juices, though, one has to go to Luang Prabang, the former royal capital of Laos.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>No-one makes fruit juices like the pretty women of Luang Prabang do!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>These are delicious concoctions of fresh fruit juice mixed with coconut, milk and other ingredients.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Xinjiang\u2019s melons and grapes are in such demand that they are sold at airport shops, nicely packed in boxes, which many of the departing passengers carry with them as hand luggage.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The best grapes come from Turpan, 150 kilometres to the southeast of Urumchi.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>At 154 metres below sea level, it is the second lowest depression in the world after the Dead Sea.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Turpan may be sizzling hot, but the grapes that grow here are a gift from God!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Uighur <\/span>naans<\/span><\/em> are a treat for the palate but only when they are hot out of the oven.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They are sold from open tables, exposed to the elements, and after a while they are dry as a bone.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The only way to eat them is to first soften them up by dipping them in green tea.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The popular and ubiquitous Uighur skewered kebabs are also rather dry. But Xinjiang has many fine dishes, of Central Asian or Turkish origin, with an added tinge of Chinese.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In Kashgar one saw a few women in the head-to-toe black <\/span>burqa<\/span><\/em> with a brown mesh to cover the face and eyes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>At the centre of old town is the Eidgah, one side of which is a vast square, surrounded by narrow roads and traditional Uighur shops.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Prayers are regularly held at the Eidgah mosque, set in the middle of a nice garden, outside of which old bearded Uighur men hang out, perhaps deliberating on the precarious state of their religious freedom and dwindling ethnic autonomy in modern China.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A mosque with towering minarets also sits at the heart of Urumchi\u2019s old town, surrounded by traditional shops which sell all manner of very colourful clothing and caps, among other things.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In Urumchi as well as in Lhasa (Tibet), uniformed police and army pickets and patrols are everywhere giving both towns the look of a military zone.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This is the consequence of serious anti-Chinese riots in both cities, in Lhasa on March 14, 2008 and in Urumchi on July 5, 2009.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Many lives were lost, hundreds were injured and there was considerable loss of property.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A Tibetan I met later commented that in eight hours of rioting, Tibetans had only killed 18 Chinese, whereas the Uighurs had managed to kill 140 in two hours.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Sounding almost embarrassed at this relatively low \u201cscore\u201d for Tibet, he explained this to be the result of the peaceful nature of its Buddhist people compared with the ferocity of the Muslim Uighurs!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About one hundred kilometres northeast of Urumchi is the hill resort of Tian Chi, which means \u201cheavenly lake\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It is very aptly named, for the lake is a long stretch of clear blue water, 2,000 metres above sea level, reflecting the snow-clad Peak of God (5,445 m).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It is at the end of a fine road dotted with Kazakh yurts where they put up little ethnic dance shows for the tourists, for a price.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Around Tian Chi I noticed some heavy and dangerous construction work in progress to secure the cliffs from collapsing under the tremendous force of the gushing waters. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Asked about the absence of Uighurs in the workforce, my guide explained that they were not preferred by the Han Chinese contractors, implying some kind of discrimination.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But he added that the contractors would find it hard to provide special Muslim food to Uighur workers, who would much rather remain unemployed than be served food which was not guaranteed <\/span>halal<\/span><\/em>!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Preferring to be more polite than curious, I chose not to ask why the Muslim workers could not bring their <\/span>halal<\/span><\/em> food with them from home.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Although my guide\u2019s father was a simple farmer, all six of his children had graduated from college on government scholarships or stipends, but jobs were hard to find.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He himself had a degree in irrigation technology, but was working as a casual tourist guide, thanks to his good English. Judging by the number of Western, Central Asian and Chinese tourists visiting Xinjiang, perhaps he made more money helping them than he would if he worked as an irrigation engineer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(<\/span>Published in Daily Times, 24 January 2011<\/span><\/em>)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Travelling in China \u2013 mountain to sea<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

For my trip to Tashkorgan (3,600 metres above sea level), I took a shared taxi with a group of Western backpackers. Tashkorgan is a Chinese border town on the Karakorum Highway, 120 kms from Sost in Pakistan across the Khunjerab Pass.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The town stands astride the meeting point of five countries, namely, Afghanistan, Tajikistan\u00a0<\/span>and Kyrgystan, besides China and Pakistan, although the only border crossing from here is to Pakistan.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From Kashgar, it is a 6-7 hour drive to Tashkorgan, 230 kms away.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>A couple of hours after leaving Kashgar, which is on a flat, dusty plain, the road enters fantastic mountain scenery with snow-clad peaks on either side, including the Kongur Mountain (7,719 m).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The Karakul Lake is a sight to behold, with clear blue waters reflecting the white snowy peaks surrounding it on three sides.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The road passes through Tajik territory with Tajik and Kirghiz stalls vending various kinds of precious stones.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>One passes rows of large trucks coming from the opposite direction, carrying large boulders needed for construction work in the rest of China.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Afghanistan\u2019s narrow Wakhan strip is only a few kilometers from here, giving Afghanistan a 76 kilometre-long border with China.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Readers might find it interesting to know that a mere 25-30 kms of the Wakhan strip separates Pakistan from Tajikistan (and the former USSR).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As on all roads in mountainous areas, the river is never far.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>On this stretch the road does not cross high mountain passes, rather meanders leisurely through the mountains helped by the river cutting its way through.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>On this road, as well as on the road to Nepal in Tibet, all traffic in both directions must pass through a police check post about a hundred kilometers from the international border.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Here everyone, whether a Chinese or a foreign national, must disembark and produce their travel or identity documents.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This, of course, is in addition to the main immigration control at the international borders which, in this case, is at Tashkorgan.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tashkorgan is a neat little town, unlike the small Tibetan towns on the road to Nepal, which are rather untidy and full of stray dogs which freely crouch under restaurant tables scrounging for food.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Tibetans believe that the sick, stray dogs that hang around monasteries are the reincarnations of bad monks.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But even bad monks must be respected and fed, so they are allowed to loiter, no matter their sickly looks and festering wounds.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The next leg of my trip was by train from Urumchi to Shanghai, at the other extremity, on the east coast of China. Urumchi railway station is massive, clean and very well organized.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Big electronic boards outside the station announce the waiting room numbers for particular trains.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>After passing through security checks, we took our seats in the lounge which was blocked off from the entrance to the platform by little gates. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There was no activity until about 20 minutes before the departure time, much like boarding time at airports.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Seeing the large crowd assembled in the lounge and no movement whatsoever, I wondered how on earth we were going to catch the train.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But just at the right time, with military precision, a few uniformed railway staff (mostly women) emerged out of nowhere.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They opened the little gates one by one, allowing a steady and smooth flow of passengers from the waiting lounge to the train.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

No coolies or porters and no jostling \u2013 everyone quietly proceeded to their pre-assigned compartment and berth.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The process is eased by the attendants who are assigned to every compartment and who stand at attention on the platform next to the door whenever the train stops at any station.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It is all too disciplined and well-organised.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>And not much fun, compared to the veritable bazaars that Indian and Pakistani trains and stations are \u2013 colourful, disorderly, bustling and noisy!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The platforms in China look deserted except for two or three hawkers\u2019 stalls and the passengers eager to provision themselves for the rest of the journey.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Fresh hot food and packed food are also sold in the train by uniformed salespersons quietly pushing their trolleys through the aisles.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>What a contrast with Indian or Pakistani trains, where the hawkers advertise in high pitch melodious voices their wares, which are precariously balanced in baskets on their heads or dangle painfully from their arms.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Giving me company on this long train journey from Urumchi to Shanghai were three Muslim Uighurs, two whom offered all their prayers, even discussing amongst themselves which were obligatory during travel and which were not.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>All three ate nothing but their bone-dry <\/span>naan<\/span><\/em> after their supply of roasted meat had run out, shunning the food sold on the train as it was not <\/span>halal<\/span><\/em>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

During the 48-hour journey, the train stopped at no more than ten stations and never for more than 3-4 minutes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The water in the washrooms and toilets never ran out although no device to refill the tanks at the stations was evident.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Either the tanks were very large or water was being recycled!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Hoping it was the former rather than the latter, I chose not to ask.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The mostly-female attendants regularly patrolled the compartments to ensure discipline and cleanliness.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Given their stern looks and police-type uniforms, breaches were few and far between.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The attendants richly deserved their salaries, constantly watching, sweeping the floors, collecting trash in plastic bags and leaving them in neat rows on the platform whenever the train stopped, to be disposed of later by the station staff.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the massive Shanghai railway station, which was packed with passengers arriving from and travelling to all corners of China, I counted but two uniformed porters with wheeled luggage carriers.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Everyone else carried or pushed his own luggage.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>If the quality and compactness of the luggage which travelers carry reflect the standard of living in a country, China surely has made much progress.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The huge, underground taxi stand at the Shanghai railway station also cannot fail to impress.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It resembles the taxi ranks at large western airports, where taxis and intending passengers line up in queues and are served systematically. Except that, at Shanghai railway station, it is underground.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>(Published in Daily Times, 7 February 2011)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Awesome infrastructure \u2013 China\u2019s roads and rails<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It will come as a surprise to most people that, at 86,000 kms, the Chinese railway network is the third largest in the world and larger than India\u2019s (62,658 kms).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>China also has the world\u2019s fastest train in service, the German-built Maglev train which clocks 431 kilometres per hour in a short burst from Shanghai city to the airport.<\/span><\/p>\n

Infrastructure development in China leaves visitors in awe.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I have had the experience of travelling the length and breadth of China, including some of the most challenging and difficult terrain in Xinjiang and Tibet.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Although I had heard and read about it, yet for me seeing was believing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

China plans to build tens of thousands of kilometers of new track by 2020, adding new high-speed rail lines between major cities. And with the completion of the five north-south and the seven east-west national arterial highways, totaling 35,000\u00a0km, motorways now connect over 200 cities across China.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As far as highway networks go, the US Interstate system still stands in a class by itself.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Launched in the late 1950s under President Eisenhower, after whom it is named, the system has a total length of 75,440 km, making it both the largest highway system in the world and the largest public works project in history.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Chinese road system covers colossal distances.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>For example, from Shanghai it is 3,748 km to Yunnan (on the Burmese border), 4,967 to Yining (in Xinjiang) and 5,334 to Zhangmu (on the Nepalese border).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Lhasa is 3,855 km from Beijing by road, while Khunjerab Pass (on the Pakistan border) is 1,948 km from the provincial capital of Urumchi. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Level railway and road crossings are nearly non-existent.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Instead, there are over-bridges or underpasses, hundreds of them, in cities, towns and rural areas, regardless of whether the roads are sealed, gravel or dirt.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Travelling close to 100 hours on Chinese trains, I counted but three or four level crossings on the way.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The huge investment in overpasses and underpasses along the entire length of the railway system must have been worth it for cutting waiting times and saving lives and resources by reducing the number of accidents.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A recent BBC report suggested that there were more people speaking English in China than there were in India!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It is certainly true that the Chinese people are learning English fast.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On the streets of Shanghai a number of times my friend and I were approached by friendly Chinese girls who wanted to converse with us in English to improve their own.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Their English was impressive. Also touting their wares in rudimentary English were some men, their merchandise consisting generally of three items: shoes, watches and \u201cnice\u201d girls.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, it seems Mandarin and English do not mix well.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The Chinese conundrum in pronouncing the \u2018r\u2019 sound is well known.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Not infrequently, \u2018r\u2019 is pronounced as \u2018l\u2019 leading to hilarious results.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Thus, some Mandarin-speakers will order \u2018lice\u2019 (rice) for dinner.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>In the US they have been heard to complain about too frequent \u201ce*ections\u201d and in Australia (where voting is compulsory) about compulsory \u201ce*ections\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The internet is full of examples of what is called \u201cChinglish\u201d \u2013 notices in English in China that are so poorly rendered as to be incomprehensible or funny.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This is the result of literal translation and, perhaps, translation with computer software.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I have some pickings of my own:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In Shanghai Metro: \u201cIntelligent information system\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n