Frontiers in Business, Economics and Management ISSN: 2766-824X | Vol. 14, No. 2, 2024 158 Study on the International Publicity of Red Scenic Spots in Baoding Zhe Cao, Junhong Jia, Yiyang Zhang English Department, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071000, China Abstract: Since China entered the new era, the "going out" strategy of Chinese culture has been strongly advocated. Improving the international publicity of red scenic spots is an important way to implement the strategy. The paper studies the international publicity of red scenic spots in Baoding through field investigation and interview. Then, the paper focuses on summarizing the existing problems from the international publicity of red scenic spots in Baoding from the current situation of the website construction, the English translation examples of representative red scenic spots, and the bilingual signs construction. According to these common problems, the paper puts forward targeted suggestions to different subjects such as the Baoding government and the public, benefiting the improvement of international publicity of red scenic spots in Baoding and promoting cultural communication between China and foreign countries. Keywords: Red scenic spots, publicity, inconsistency, network publicity, culture card. 1. Introduction The "going out" strategy of Chinese culture in the new era requires telling China’s stories well and promoting cultural communication and cooperation. Improving the international publicity of red scenic spots plays a crucial role in helping Chinese culture go global and enhance cultural soft power. Red scenic spots refer to tourist attractions that introduce China's revolutionary history and spirit. They are of great significance for tourists to understand China's revolutionary history and promote cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. International publicity is an indispensable way to introduce China and present China's image to the world. Accurate and vivid international publicity can not only reduce prejudice and misunderstanding, but also benefit spreading Chinese culture and gaining international recognition and respect. Baoding is a heroes’ city, with abundant red scenic resources, such as Baiyangdian, Langya Mountain, Yesanpo, etc. However, there are many problems with website construction, English translation of representative spots, bilingual sign construction, etc. These problems will affect tourists' understanding of red scenic spots and their impression of Baoding to some degree. Although some scholars have studied the publicity of cultural tourism in Baoding, they have not done further research on the status quo of the publicity in the field of red scenic spots. Therefore, this paper focuses on the international publicity of red scenic spots in Baoding, and puts forward targeted suggestions for the common problems. The paper can not only reveal the connotation of red scenic spots to foreign tourists, attracting and allowing them to have a deeper insight into China's revolutionary history. In addition, it can spread stories and revolutionary spirit of heroes better, boost cultural communication and cooperation, and facilitate Chinese culture to go global. 2. Review-of-Literature Firstly, from previous research, scholars have explored the current status of bilingual signs in red tourism scenic areas from multiple perspectives such as ecological translation studies, teleology, and evaluation theory. Tongjing (2014)[9] proposed using the "three-dimensional" principle—language dimension, culture dimension, and communication dimension - to combine ecological translation studies with bilingual translation of prompt signs to achieve optimal integration and adaptation. Zhang Xuejiao (2023)[1] and others proposed to analyze the English translation errors in the promotional texts of Jianchuan Museum under the guidance of the "Skopos Theory", and explore corresponding improvement strategies, which are conducive to improving the translation quality of the promotional texts of Jianchuan Museum, spreading red culture and revolutionary spirit. Hu Xiaowen's (2023)[3] analysis of the English translation of "Commentary on the Baise Uprising Memorial Hall" indicates that resource words in the attitude system can help speakers or authors convey positive world attitudes, help establish a positive national image, and seek a new perspective for the English translation analysis of red tourism materials - a new perspective of evaluation theory. In addition, Chinese scholars have focused on the current situation of translation of bilingual signs in red tourist attractions, pointed out translation problems, and proposed corresponding translation strategies. Wang Hainan (2022)[6] said that the information in this article on red tourist attractions has three major characteristics: strong narrative, many political components, and rich cultural connotations. Lv Na (2023)[4] pointed out that when carrying out the translation of red tourism external propaganda, the translation of "culture-loaded words" with red cultural characteristics is one of the current key and difficult points. Fan Ningyu (2019)[8] proposed five major strategies for the translation of red tourism texts: literal translation, free translation, augmented translation, syntax and discourse reorganization to adapt to different contexts and expression needs. Most importantly, college students generally believe that the bilingual signs for red tourism are necessary. They think that bilingual signs not only facilitate the visit and understanding of domestic and foreign tourists, but also reflect China's openness and inclusiveness to the outside world. At the same time, the setting of bilingual signs also helps to enhance the international level of red tourism 159 attractions, attracting more international tourists to visit. Red tourism is of great importance to explore the international tourism market and enhance international friendship. (Wu, 2023)[2] Secondly, college students have high requirements for the translation quality and accuracy of bilingual signs for red tourism. They believe that accurate translation can not only convey correct historical information and cultural connotations, but also avoid misunderstandings and confusion caused by language barriers. Therefore, they call for attention to the professionalism and accuracy of translation in the process of translating bilingual signs for red tourism, to avoid minor errors and ambiguities. Liu Shanshan (2019)[7] used the most famous Trados in CAT software as an example to complete the construction and conversion of terminology databases in sdl format, illustrating the importance of creating terminology databases for improving the quality and efficiency of external propaganda translation of red tourism attractions. In addition, college students also focus on the innovation and personalization of bilingual signs for red tourism. They believe that traditional forms of signs are no longer able to meet the diverse needs of modern tourists, so there is a need for innovation in the design and content of signs to attract the attention and interest of tourists. Li Sisi and Yu Mengjia (2022)[5] used VR panoramic technology to study the path of high-quality development of red cultural tourism in Hebei. Research on the translation of red tourist attraction slogans has a rich foundation in the past, and there are also studies on the translation of ed tourist attraction signs in Hebei. However, previous studies still have limits. Researchers have tried to carry out interdisciplinary research on red tourist attractions, for example, combining the theories of purpose theory, ecological translation, pragmatics, communication and other related aspects, but the depth of research needs to be further strengthened. Moreover, there is no corpus established for the bilingual signs of red tourism scenic spots in Baoding yet. From all the existing translation corpora of red tourism, it is found that there are more Chinglish expressions in the English translations of red tourism texts, resulting in excessive information being conveyed but less useful information for readers. This paper intends to discuss issues such as establishing a standardized tourist attraction bilingual translation system in Baoding, proposing reasonable translation strategies and suggestions as well as establishing a bilingual website for red tourism attractions in Baoding. 3. Method Our team assisted the Foreign Affairs Office of Baoding Municipal People's Government in revising the ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF PUBLIC SIGNS IN BAODING (Trial) (hereinafter referred to as "Translation"). According to theoretical experience, the team investigated the Zhili Governor-General's Office, Baoding City on the spot to understand the use of bilingual signs in exhibition halls (visited the Zhili Governor-General's Office in Baoding City, studied the use of bilingual signs in exhibition halls, and interviewed tourists and staff on the spot to investigate the language services provided by scenic spots to foreigners. 4. Result 4.1. Problems found based on "Translation" Generally speaking, the Baoding Municipal Government does not pay enough attention to bilingual signs of red scenic spots, which is embodied in the lack of entries of red scenic spots and the lack of entries of some important scenic spots in Translation. Baoding is a red city with a long revolutionary history and tradition, which has played an important role in modern Chinese history since 1840. Reasonable planning and development of the red tourism route in Baoding can allow people in the new era to relive the revolutionary process, remember the revolutionary predecessors, carry forward the national spirit, and stimulate patriotic feelings. Therefore, it is of great significance for the publicity and introduction of the red scenic spots in Baoding to sort out the relevant slogans of the red scenic spots in the Translation, so that tourists can more accurately trace back history and pursue red memories. According to this idea, we found that although some of the slogan entries related to red scenic spots have been included in the Translation, they are still not comprehensive enough, and many of the slogan entries related to famous red scenic spots or red educational bases in Baoding are missing. For example, Baiyangdian Yanling Team Memorial Hall, Brie Liufa Technical School Former Site, Gaoli Riot Memorial Hall, Bethune Ke Dihua Memorial Hall, etc. In addition, the slogan entries of the red scenic spots in the Translation are scattered in the "representative cultural venues of Baoding City" and "representative tourist attractions of Baoding City", which leads to inconvenient search. 4.2. Findings On the basis of reading the relevant literature and compiling the translation, our team chose to conduct a field visit to the Zhili Governor-General's Office in the center of Baoding. Overall, the bilingual translation and logos of the Zhili Governor-General's Office have problems of inconsistent translation, semantic errors, and missing English explanations. The Zhili Governor-General's Office is a fully preserved provincial-level government office in China. It is not only an important part of China's historical and cultural heritage, but also an important window for understanding and researching the politics, economy, culture and other aspects of the Qing Dynasty. At the same time, in the eyes of foreigners, the direct attachment to The Zhili Governor-General's Office has a high historical value. In a random interview, a friend from Brazil explained the purpose of his visit. He believed that the Governor was an important official of the Qing Dynasty, and that Li Hongzhang, an important diplomat, was well known to foreigners. His office is of high value for people to visit who have an interest in Chinese history. During the visit, our team observed and interviewed the following problems. Some translations are inconsistent. The inconsistent translation of its scenic spots by The Zhili Governor-General's Office is reflected in the introduction of different exhibition halls in the scenic spots. Some hall translators use the pinyin -- Zhili Zongdushu, and some use the English translation The Zhili Governor-General 's Office. Some semantics are wrong. In the warning signs in the scenic area, our team found two semantic error signs. One is "No Not Lie Down" and the correct version should be "Do Not Lie Down". The other place is "Please Do Not Untouchable" and the correct version should be "Please Do Not Touch". Lack of English explanation. In the key exhibition halls of scenic spots, only the general titles have English translation. 160 Regarding the Chinese narrative that specifically introduces the historical presentation, cultural connotation, and introduction of cultural relics in the exhibition hall, there is a general lack of English texts. At the same time, in the interview with the tour guide, we learned that foreign tour groups will be accompanied by English tour guides, and there are no non-Chinese service tour guides in the scenic area. The scenic area also does not have an English version of the tourist navigation manual for foreign tourists to use for reference. 4.3. Network publicity issues As an important part of red cultural publicity, there are great problems with the network publicity of various scenic spots in Baoding. In the era of Internet development, scenic spots can widely and effectively promote the characteristics, culture, tourism resources and services of scenic spots through a variety of network platforms, thus attracting more tourists to visit and experience. Our team searched the websites of various scenic spots in Baoding on the Internet and found that most scenic spots do not have websites; some scenic spots do not have English versions for foreign tourists to browse, such as the Langya Mountain Cultural Museum (lyswhbwg.cn); or the key exhibition areas in the scenic spots do not have detailed English descriptions, such as Hebei Red Culture Tourism Network (hslyxh.com). Although the Zhili Governor- General's Office has an official website with a detailed introduction in Chinese and English, the key navigation function cannot be switched between languages. And this makes the English service hidden inside. In addition, on the TripAdvisor and Expedia platforms commonly used by foreign tourists, it is impossible to find tourist recommendations and tourist guides for Baoding scenic spots. 5. Conclusions Based on the above work, our team has the following conclusions about the international construction of red scenic spots in Baoding: Scenic spots are separate and lack city business cards. Baoding has many familiar red scenic spots with revolutionary stories as the background and cultural heritage scenic spots with local characteristics. However, generally, these scenic spots are small. At the same time, they do not form a synergy, give play to their red tourism characteristics, and form a reasonable and organic combination with the "maximum common divisor". Instead, they are separated into separate groups. Therefore, Baoding does not have a distinctive cultural card. In contrast, the scenic spots in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province are also limited on scale, but they have established a distinct image with "garden" as their culture card. Lack of internationalization consciousness in scenic spots. There is a lack of effective English publicity channels in various scenic spots in Baoding and there is a lack of various types of language service products in the scenic spots. This will reduce the possibility of foreign tourists choosing the scenic spot, affect the opportunities for cooperation between the scenic spot and international tourism organizations and institutions, and limit the development potential of the scenic spot in the international tourism market. Compared with the internationalization level of other well-known scenic spots in China, the red scenic spots in Baoding are not enough. Scenic areas urgently need to improve the accuracy and consistency of English translation. Existing semantic errors in the English logo and inconsistent translation of scenic spots can cause foreign tourists to misunderstand or confuse the scenic spots, damage the professional image and reputation of the scenic spots, and may also cause cultural conflicts or misunderstandings. In response to the above questions, our team provides the following suggestions for reference. In Baoding's red culture publicity and tourism resources development, the most important task is to make a clear position. At present, Baoding has not formed a distinct cultural card. This is not conducive to concentrating cultural tourism resources, displaying the characteristics, culture and image of Baoding City, and enhancing the city's visibility, reputation and competitiveness. In the aspect of Baoding Municipal Government, the primary task is to aim at finding a clear position, and focus on Baoding's cultural publicity. The government can coordinate the advantages of all parties. And lead the scenic area operators, university scholars, relevant practitioners and other parties to carry out academic seminars, cultural exchanges and other ways to achieve the goal. In addition, on the basis of the existing Translation, all red scenic spots and red resources in Baoding should be covered, and the translation standards should be unified. In addition, the government will cooperate with universities in Baoding to establish a red culture translation system, including corpus, internship bases, and translation updates of foreign propaganda texts, which will be of great benefit to red culture foreign propaganda. For scenic spot operators, it is very important to improve the quality of language services and expand the scope of services. Our team believes that we should strictly abide by the complete revision of the Translation, ask non-translators to review it, and keep it updated from time to time. So as to correct the mistranslation and inconsistency of English translation in Baoding scenic spots. For the service improvement of foreign tourists, our team suggests making a navigation brochure in English to contain the introduction of each exhibition hall and main exhibits, which can meet the needs of exhibition hall planning, service cost saving and service quality improvement. With regard to publicity methods, our team believes that it is equally important to improve bilingual official websites and broaden publicity channels. At present, the website construction of major scenic spots in Baoding generally lacks the guidance function for non-Chinese users, which needs to be supplemented urgently. In addition, the red culture of Baoding can be introduced through various social media, travel guides, promotional videos, etc., to increase the visibility and influence of the scenic spots. 6. Funding The paper is funded by College Students’ Innovative Entrepreneurial Training Plan Program (S202310079154). References [1] Zhang, X. J, Li, J. Y. & Zhang, M. (2023). A Study on the English Translation of Texts in Red Tourism Attractions from the Perspective of Skopos Theory— Taking Jiuchuan Museum as an Example. Overseas English, (19), 53-55. [2] Wu, M. Q. (2023). The Analysis of the Methodology for Red Tourism Promotional Translation - A Case Study of the Chinese Communist Party History Exhibition Hall. English Square, (29), 15-18. 161 [3] Hu, X.W. (2023). Evaluating the Translation of Jiangxi Baise's Red Tourism Materials through a Theoretical Lens— A Case Study in "The Guide to the Baise Rebellion Memorial Museum". Comparative Study of Cultural Innovation, (29), 50- 54. [4] Lv, N. (2023). Red Tourism Promotional Translation: Issues and Strategies. Theoretic Observation, (06), 144-147. [5] Li, S. S. & Yu, M. J. (2022). Research on the High-quality Development Path of Hebei Red Culture Tourism Based on VR Panoramic Technology. Cultural Industry, (30), 142-144. [6] Wang, H. N. (2022). Analysis of Common Errors and Translation Techniques in the External Promotion Translation of Red Tourism Attractions. CULTURE JOURNAL, (05), 228- 231. [7] Liu, S. S. (2020). Creation and Application of Translation Terminology Database for Zunyi Red Tourism. Journal of Puyang Vocational and Technical College, (06), 77-81. [8] Fan, N. Y. (2019). Research on the English Translation of Red Tourism Texts. New West, (35), 102+109. [9] Tong, J. (2014). A Study on Bilingual Signs’ Translation under the Framework of Eco-Translatology-- A Case Study on Red- Tourist’s Bilingual Caution Signs in Shaoshan. Journal of Longdong University, (05), 110-112. 162 Appendix Interview at the Zhili Governor-General's Office Interviewee 1: A Brazilian friend who has been studying and living in China for four years Q: How did you learn about the scenic spot of the Zhili Governor-General 's Office? A: I learned about the scenic spot of the Zhili Governor-General 's Office through Xiaohongshu. Q: Have you traveled to any other cities in China before? What is the sense of experience? A: I have visited many other cities in China before, such as Xi 'an, Chongqing, Kunming, Jilin and other places. I think Baoding and even Hebei are cities and provinces with very rich historical and cultural heritage, but I feel that the local tourism resources have not been well utilized. As a foreigner like me, when I came to China and heard about some of the more famous places, Hebei would not be listed as such. However, in fact, Hebei has many important historical and cultural heritage, so I feel that the national government should pay attention to this. Q: How do you think we should promote or better explore local cultural resources? A: I think it's like planting a seed on how to promote this aspect. For example, after I arrive at this place, I will recommend it to my friends, and through a series of collaborations, the seeds will eventually sprout. Q: Do you think there is anything in Brazil that Baoding can learn about in terms of tourism and cultural protection? A: In terms of tourism in our country Brazil, I think one thing we can learn from is not to be too commercialized. China actually has a long history, but sometimes I feel that some places should not be so commercialized. Because this will to some extent affect the preservation of history. Moreover, many scenic spots require payment. I feel like this is just a threshold. Because these are all human heritage, I think if there is no threshold, more people can come in and have a better understanding of history. Therefore, I think it would be better if these places could be opened up. Q: Do you encounter any language or text comprehension barriers during your visit? A: My Chinese is relatively proficient, basically I can understand it, that is, sometimes I encounter a little difficulty when reading the explanation. For example, when traditional Chinese characters involve some older things. Although I have passed the HSK (Chinese Language Examination) level 6, since most of the display boards have annotations except for the title, there are few English annotations in other places, which will cause some obstacles to my understanding. I feel that if there were an English explanation next to me, my experience would be better. Interviewee 2: Attractions Narrator. Q: Based on your experience, do tourists rent a tour guide during their visit? A: Most of them will. Because most people who come to the Governor General's Office enjoy history, as a complex of buildings in the Qing Dynasty government office, unlike garden style buildings that allow tourists to explore on their own, this requires professional explanations such as architecture and the work of the governors. Therefore, I think most tourists still enjoy listening to tour guides. Q: What kind of feedback do tourists have during your explanation? A: Most tourists will have some positive feedback during the explanation process, as most of what they have learned before is not official, so they will be surprised to express it when they hear our explanation. At the same time, some tourists are also scholars who are very knowledgeable about history, so this is also an assessment for us. We need to learn more about this historical aspect and be more rigorous. This is a mutual process, where we can explain to each other what they don't understand, and sometimes scholars in these areas will also tell us more rigorous, official, and historical knowledge. At this time, we also need to learn from tourists. Q: Do you focus on certain aspects when explaining? A: In the process of explanation, we usually mainly introduce the Governor General's usual work, including their political achievements. The main person introduced in the Si Tang is Zeng Guofan, and the main person accepted in the Da Tang is Li Hongzhang, because firstly, these two are well-known historical figures, and secondly, they are indeed two governors with outstanding political achievements. Q: Do we currently have bilingual explanations? A: We currently do not involve bilingual explanations. When hosting foreign friends, they usually bring their own translation software, so they just need us to speak Chinese. Moreover, we have not received a particularly large number of foreign tourists at present, as this area may be a bit obscure and difficult for them to understand. Of course, as the reputation of the Zhili Governor-General 's Office, we will definitely have bilingual tour guides in our management in the future.