A new government initiative that aims to standardize signboard design in China's historic capital Xi'an has misfired by turning shops into accidental funeral hall-lookalikes.

On Thursday, business owners of shops on Sifu Street in the city's historic Xiaonanmen area were shocked by an overnight swap of signboards on the entire street. They were all replaced with a uniform design of white characters against a black background — a design commonly associated with that of banners in funeral halls in China.

Officials who run Lianhu district, where the shops are located, told local media that the display change is part of a city renovation project that aims to harmonize the color tone of historic sites and shops in the same area. The black and white combination is considered to be dignified, they said.

But shop owners could not disagree more. "This has a huge impact on my business. People who pay attention [to the new signboard] are not coming now," a business owner told local media.

"This new signboard may be free-of-charge, but I'd rather pay for a new one than getting this one. It brings bad luck!" said another shop owner.

Following the public outcry, the district government on Saturday made a U-turn and arranged for all signs to be replaced by ones with a brown background, affected shop owners said.

A government official responsible for the signboard replacement confirmed the policy U-turn in response to local media inquiries. "We are aware of the public feedback that the design failed to achieve the intended result; we should have been more thorough in our consideration," the official said.

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