The two European nations - one known for its chocolate, cheese and watches; the other for Ikea, Volvo and the Seventies pop band Abba - have often been confused for each other among the Chinese.

 

The problem largely stems from（源于） the fact that both nations' names are written similarly in Mandarin - Ruidian (Sweden) and Ruishi (Switzerland) – which begin with the same symbol, according to the Swedish Consul² General Victoria Li in China.

 

In an effort to put an end to the mix-up, the Swedish and Swiss consulates⁴ in Shanghai have launched a competition on the Swedish Consulate³ website, asking Chinese people to come up with funny ways to help differentiate⁵ the two countries. Submissions⁷ can be accepted as a blog post, cartoon, photo, short film or in any other format⁸.

 

The winner with the best submission⁶ will receive a 12-day trip to Sweden and Switzerland and will be expected to report back on their impressions of both countries following the trip, the website states. Entries will be accepted until November 20.

 

The organisers have also devised a humorous campaign logo portraying⁹ a montage of objects and people associated with Sweden and Switzerland on separate maps of each country.

 

Sweden's map features meatballs, a Viking, Pippi Longstocking from Astrid Lindgren's books, as well as two male cartoon figures with a heart between them symbolising gay marriage, which remains¹⁰ illegal in Switzerland. Switzerland's map features cheese, fondue, the Alps and a picture of Roger Federer.

 

China may not be the only country struggling to tell Sweden and Switzerland apart. Residents of Spanish-speaking countries also fall victim to the confusion as Sweden is spelt 'Suecia' in Spanish while Switzerland is called 'Suiza'.

 

Sweden and Switzerland aren't the only destinations that have caused confusion among travellers. Last month, a British holidaymaker hoped to explore the architecture of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, but instead mistakenly caught a flight across the Atlantic to the tropical Caribbean island of Grenada following a confusing booking blunder. Earlier this summer, two US holidaymakers were flown to the wrong continent after an airline confused two airport codes.

 

The misconception between Sweden and Switzerland isn't the only incident for which Chinese tourists have recently come under the light. Last month, Communist Party tourism chiefs issued a "Guidebook for Civilised Tourism"urging first-time Chinese travellers to cut back on poor behaviour including public displays of nose-picking, swimming pool-soiling and the discussion of pork in a bid to improve the country's image overseas.

 

China was the biggest spender in international tourism last year, overtaking Italy, Japan, France and Britain, and is the world's fastest-growing tourism source market, according to the latest figures from the World Tourism Organization earlier this year.

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