On June 10, students from London University and the London School of Economics gathered at the SOAS library for a 2h30 Chinese-English and English-Chinese translation race, marking the start of our Marco Polo Translation Tour.

The School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London is the only Higher Education institution in Europe specialising in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East,  and combines language scholarship, disciplinary expertise and regional focus.

It was a beautiful sunny day in London, but our participants preferred the challenge of collaborative translation over a leisurely stroll in the park. 

Together, they translated over 5000 characters, on topics as diverse as the non-profit sector in China, Xinjiang, Twitter poetry, or the history of undergarments. Jing Lin, working in the direction English to Chinese, with 1700 characters translated in 1h45, won the prize for fastest translator.

We wish to thank SOAS and the Confucius Institute for working with us on this event, and look forward to the next iteration, and the development of a regular London group! 

To learn about coming Marco Polo Project events, check this page.