In an attempt to woo property buyers and tourists there has been an increasing number of foreign place names in China, such as ‘Thames town’ in Guangdong. However, not everyone is impressed by this trick. The Henan government has released a report titled “Measures for management of place names in Henan Province” and as of October 15 not only will places not be allowed English names but if they do, they will be fined.

The report states that an area cannot be named after a foreign leader or a foreign place; in fact it can’t be given a foreign name at all. If a place has been named without authorisation from the government then the local civil affairs department will first set a deadline for changing the name, and if that is not met they have the authority to fine the offenders anything between 200 – 1000 RMB.

These new regulations were written up as a reaction to the many foreign places names surrounding Zhengzhou city in particular. Head there and you can currently fine ‘the Tuscan’ and ‘Tahiti’ in close proximity.

Netizens have come out in favor of these new rules, as many say they disagree with blindly giving places foreign names solely to attract visitors.

Source: sina.com

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Keywords: Zhengzhou city Henan province