China says it will clamp down on foreign-sounding and “bizarre” names after too many streets and developments called “Manhattan” or “Venice” have popped up amid decades of frenzied building.
Civil affairs minister Li Liguo said in a recently televised speech that the government will change over-the-top or imported names and encourage real estate developers and city planners to seek inspiration instead from China’s rich cultural heritage.
“Some cities have multiple ‘Manhattan’ or ‘Venice’ roads,” Li said. “It’s not only an inconvenience to travellers but also erodes a sense of home.”
He said the move would target “exaggerated, foreign, bizarre and repetitive” names, as well as those that cause inconvenience to citizens, Xinhua reported.
The ministry is particularly concerned about names “that damage sovereignty and national dignity,” Li said.
The name regulation project should be finished by June 2017.
Its common in Chinese cities to encounter words like “elite” or “chateau” in the names of shopping malls or housing compounds.
#China's State Council to ban foreign venue names imposed on Chinese streets, buildings, bridges or housing estates pic.twitter.com/OyUwHn9i72
— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) March 23, 2016
In Beijing, there is a “Central Park” condominium compound while another upscale project goes by the impressive title of “Yuppie International Condos.”
Associated Press contributed to this report
