Meaning of EXPO2010 Slogan

[newid]

Just now, I suddenly feel confused about the Meaning of EXPO2010 Slogan

In Chinese, directly it means: City, makes life better.
this gives the feeling that it is the City that can make life better.

In English, it says Better City, Better Life.
this gives the feeling that if we make a city better, it will also make life better.

I am a chinese and I want to know how English native speakers' view about this.

Thanks in advance

 

[emsr2d2]

Just now, I suddenly feel confused about the Meaning of EXPO2010 Slogan

In Chinese, directly it means: City, makes life better.
this gives the feeling that it is the City that can make life better.

In English, it says Better City, Better Life.
this gives the feeling that if we make a city better, it will also make life better.

I am a chinese and I want to know how English native speakers' view about this.

Thanks in advance

I would agree with your interpretation of the English version. It suggests that if you improve a city (the infrastructure, the transport etc) then life in that city becomes better for its inhabitants.

 

[Raymott]

Just now, I suddenly feel confused about the Meaning of EXPO2010 Slogan

In Chinese, directly it means: City, makes life better.
this gives the feeling that it is the City that can make life better.

In English, it says Better City, Better Life.
this gives the feeling that if we make a city better, it will also make life better.

I am a chinese and I want to know how English native speakers' view about this.

Thanks in advance

In ordinary English, "Better city, better life" means that if you have a better city, you'll have a better life" or the better the city, the better the life.
"City, makes life better" implies that a/the city makes life better.
That is, they mean different things.

Here are some other thoughts:
Official site:
http://en.expo2010.cn/a/20081119/000001.htmThe theme of Expo 2010 is "Better City, Better Life," representing the common wish of the whole humankind for a better living in future urban environments.
This theme represents a central concern of the international community for future policy making, urban strategies and sustainable development.


Wikipedia
"The theme of the exposition will be "BetterCity – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as a major economic and cultural center"


I don't know why the Wikipedia interpretation assumes that the motto is only about Shanghai.

 

[tedtmc]

I think the slogan is meant to echo the Beijing Olympic slogan - One World, One Dream.

 

[Tdol]

I think that the original Chinese slogan wouldn't work very well in many English-speaking countries, where the majority of people are urban dwellers and have been all their lives. City life isn't as an alternative or an improvement to many, so changing it to improving the quality of city life makes sense to me.