Traffic signs: Children's Crossing Signs in China

Guiyang, 04.VII.2004;
pict. N. Heerink

Xian, VII.2000; pict. Baeten & De Dier

Not exactly a collector's delight but still worth a word or two.

Both children don't hold hands. We have very few panels with this feature: in The Netherlands, Madagascar and Iceland.
We are used to the clothing giving the gender away. But here the bookbag (in most cases a simple rectangle) is also gender-specific. The purse of the girl could be an Indian influence (also found on Mauritius).
Note how the drawing suggests that the boy is closest to the viewer. Most panels show the children behind each other and seen exactly from a 90° angle. We have a similar feature in Ireland.

Lushan, 01.IV.2005; pict. N. Heerink

Our people on the field never sleep. They stay watchful for months on end even after the umpteenth identical roadsign. And it pays, even in China. All children's signs are identical, except for this one. It's comforting to know that at least one small spot escapes party control.

The drawing is almost the same as in — they won't like this — Taiwan. It is European design (e.g. Spain) with a yellow (that is not entirely a surprise) background and a very specific hairdress for the girl.

R. Mason was so kind to provide us with a translation of the captions:

Guiyang sign:
+ the triangle says slow.

Xian sign:
+ top = school entrance;
+ left and right = pay attention to safety
+ bottom = Xi'an Public Security Traffic Division, N° 6 Corps.

Lushan sign:
+ top = school in the People's Republic simplified script.
+ Bottom repeats school but now in the old script used in Hongkong (notice the same characters in our find at the top of this page) and Taiwan.