Amid China’s real-estate boom, new housing developments are appearing with aspirational names like “Aladdin Gardens” and “White House Mini District.” Alarmed that many of these names have a foreign influence, the city of Kunming is taking action. As reported in China Daily:
“The fashion for foreign sounding names on buildings is a loss to native culture and reflects poor taste,” [Kunming Communist Party Secretary] Yang said in remarks reported by the official Xinhua News Agency. “We must correct this practice immediately.”
So does the French government have a new ally in the battle against cultural imperialism? Sort of. Turns out the policy’s casualties will include “Paris of the East Plaza” and “French Gardens.”
In related news, I was recently talking to someone from China who mentioned “Tycoon City” and “Live Like a Kaiser” as further candidates for housing developments with naming in need of taming.
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