It's time we stopped sacrificing toponyms

The Geographical Name Regulation Ordinance, issued in 1986, gives local authorities the right to name areas under their administration. But it doesn't specifically stipulate detailed rules for the naming process.

To some extent, similar road names in several areas, which sacrifice the unique cultural or historical meaning of traditional toponyms, reflect local authorities' lax administration.

Moreover, many changes in traditional geographical names are driven by economic interests. The Zhangjiajie scenic spot in Hunan province changed the name of its most famous mountain to "Hallelujah Mountain" in 2010 only because blockbuster science fiction movie Avatar used the image of the mountain, and the local authorities hoped to attract more tourists using the "famous" name. The question is: Are local authorities qualified to make such changes in geographical name at their will?

The foreign geographical names have nothing to do with the places they are used to signify. As such, the "Rome and Venice" phenomenon mentioned above reflect the cultural indifference of today's society.

On the one hand, people fail to realize the cultural and historical significance of traditional geographical names, which is a huge loss to our society and nation because traditional culture and history cannot be properly preserved if citizens don't cherish and protect them.

On the other hand, the reason quite a few residential compounds in China have been named after foreign places is that developers cater to consumers' impression of Western countries as more modern. After more than three decades of rapid economic development, China has become a big global power which doesn't have to copy Western traits and lifestyles to be called a modern society. Chinese people should establish a new concept of modernization based on a well-off society with Chinese characteristics, rather than simply copying from the West.

The campaign to clean up toponyms and geographical names provides a good opportunity to improve the geographical name management rules, in order to avoid arbitrary use of administrative power. But making people truly understand the value and importance of history and traditional culture will need some time.

The author is a writer with China Daily. wangyiqing@chinadaily.com.cn