The advertising boards and store sign plaques in Shizhong district, Jinan city, were replaced by standard bilingual ones earlier this year, to make the city more modern and international. 

Walking along the streets in Ronghui Jinan Old Commercial Port, one may find the bilingual commercial boards to be simple yet with their own characteristics. Yan Yong, an official from Daguanyuan sub-district office explained that since last June only those boards that passed strict examination were approved. Regulations were also released to specify the standards for the application of bilingual plaques and signs.  

The activity was initiated by the urban management committee office of Shizhong district with support from the district's office of overseas Chinese affairs, urban management bureau and 17 sub-strict offices. The district plans to set up "bilingual demonstration blocks" and "standard bilingual blocks".

Three blocks, Ronghui Jinan Old Commercial Port, Qilishan Middle Road and Sunshine Shuncheng Commercial Street, were the first batch of "bilingual demonstration blocks" where all the commercial plaques and public signs would be replaced with bilingual ones. The district required all the sub-districts to select one street and one small-sized residential community as "standard bilingual blocks". It planned to replace all the commercial plaques and public signs found in the streets and residential communities with bilingual ones in two years.