Old Beijing brands get English makeover
BEIJING (Reuters) - With the Beijing Olympics fast approaching, China has given six well-known domestic brands, some centuries old, a fresh look and new official English names, but not everyone is happy with them.
Famous roast duck restaurant Quanjude has become "Quanjude Peking Roast Duck - Since 1864", while traditional pharmacy Tongrentang is now "Tongrentang Chinese Medicine - Since 1669," state media reported on Wednesday.
"The translations give prominence to the history of the brands, while giving English speakers an idea of what they are or what they sell," Professor Wang Dili of Beijing Foreign Studies University was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
"The uniform structures serve as examples and will make translations of famous Chinese brands more standardized in future."
The move is part of the city's efforts to raise English language standards ahead of the huge influx of foreigners expected to visit Beijing in this Olympic year.
The translations selected for the six brands were chosen from over 250,000 proposals on the Internet, 20 percent originating from overseas, solicited by a local translation company, Xinhua added.
The new campaign has stirred controversy, though, with some people dismissing it as a needless gimmick.
"What Beijing brands need most aren't western names, rather they should strengthen their brands and add value to the name," one unnamed person said in a posting on Yahoo China's Web site.
The English name for the "gou bu li" dumplings of the northern city of Tianjin as "go believe" also prompted anger.
"Gou Bu Li has hundreds of years worth of history, and a great story behind the name. If it is given a Western name, then all meaning will be lost," said a poster on bulletin board bbs.ganji.com.
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Alex Richardson)
