Name of the game in China: Drop worship of foreign things

Beijing's plan to sinicise names of places and businesses stirs controversy among citizens

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The Vienna Hotel, San Diego Community, Thames Town and Victoria Garden - these hotels and neighbourhoods in China's Hainan province have come under fire for having names that sound too foreign.

In the past two months, various provinces and cities in China have been issuing notices to businesses and neighbourhoods that their foreign-sounding names have to go.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 28, 2019, with the headline Name of the game in China: Drop worship of foreign things. Subscribe