People mountain people sea: why literal translation can be funny
A standard translation says a place is crowded. The literal version lets readers feel the original image: people rising like mountains and spreading like the sea.
Literal but expressive
This phrase is useful for Become Chinese because it shows how Chinese idioms often think visually. The English is wrong in one sense, but culturally revealing in another.
Both forms matter: natural English helps communication, while literal Chinglish keeps the Chinese image visible.