OCCUPYING the central area of Shanghai, the foreign settlements had a history of almost 100 years in the city.

Although the local Chinese formed the majority of people living in the foreign "concessions", they were under the authority of Europeans and Americans who held the real power.

Under such circumstances, it was no wonder that the lifestyle of the settlements had a distinct foreign flavour - foreigners from different countries could be seen walking about on the streets, Western-Oriental architecture dominated the style of buildings, not to mention all the foreign commodities displayed in many stores.

People also felt the strong Western influence in the four types of signage in foreign languages that were erected around the city - street names, traffic direction signs, shop signboards and billboards.

The road names in foreign settlements were named mostly after Western personalities. So in the land of China, the roads Chinese walked along every day were named after foreigners. How ridiculous!

Although the names of streets in the settlements were all written in only English or French in the early days, the practice didn't last long. In later years, out of consideration for Chinese residents, the street signs were written in two sections - foreign names on top and Chinese translations at the bottom.

Since English and French were the two main foreign languages spoken in the settlements, the street signs in the French settlement were written in French and Chinese, while in the International settlement (established by Britain and the US), the names were given in both English and Chinese.

In fact, the foreign names made no sense to most Chinese, because they didn't understand any foreign languages. And the Chinese names were of no help to foreign residents because almost none of them could read Chinese.

The traffic direction signs in the settlements were used by the foreign authorities to control traffic movements. Some of them were erected on posts in the streets and some were suspended in the air. Like the street names, they consisted of foreign and Chinese words together.

In places like schools or hospitals, where people were required to keep quiet, other signs could also be seen. For instance: "Hospital Zone - Don't Toot."

As for the signs on bridges and on the docks, the foreign words were written in small letters and the Chinese in large characters. Because only Chinese labourers worked at these sites, maybe the big and striking signs would remind them to be careful. For example one sign read: "S.M.C. Public Works Department - Heavy Freight Vehicles Are Not Permitted To Cross This Bridge."

Shanghai, in those days, had developed into a big commercial centre with various institutions, companies and small shops being opened everywhere.

Every enterprise had its own signboard put up outside the premises. Some companies, invested and managed by foreigners, had English names only. The earliest foreign firm which sold Kodak on Nanjing Lu was Denniston & Sullivan. But many other signboards were written in both languages. After all, Chinese were the main customers.

Finally, to promote their goods, many companies and shops designed advertisements and put them on the roofs of houses, on walls or set them up in neon lights.

These advertisements were also written in both a foreign language and in Chinese. The wording of the advertisements was usually extravagant and elaborate and were arranged in an appealing way to achieve a special visual effect to catch the eyes of potential customers.

(The author is from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences)