Public signs are meant for the public to see the language or image of instruction or warning in public places.As a crucial communication media,the public signs exhibits its growing importance in the worldwide communication.With the development of the economy in China,bilingual public signs are more and more used in public places such as hotels,restaurants,airports,shopping centers and so on.In addition,people are paying more attention to the use of public signs and regard them as a window to the world.This article concertrates on issues relating to the comparison of the different ways to express and use public signs both in Chinese and English and the linguistic and cultural elements behind it and comes up with the principle for the proper translation for public signs from Chinese to English.