China Holds on to Geographical Memory

“Do not arbitrarily change old place names,” this line jumped out from the 26th meeting of the central commission for deepening overall reform on June 22. Chairing the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee” to “ensure solid overall planning and avert unregulated and disorderly acts.”

It shows that China’s leadership has put their feet down on the reckless rebranding of historical places, a practice that went rampant in the past decades. The move arguably signaled another commitment to protecting historical heritage and boosting the awareness of cultural confidence, both ideas repeatedly featured in the official lines.

According to the second survey on national geographical names (2014-2018), more than 60,000 town names and 400,000 village names have been changed since 1986. This drive that took place since 1980s coincided with China’s opening and economic takeoff. Economic motivations, like simplification and tourism, were underlined during this trend.

Ironically, the name swicth that invited the widest and longest resent happened to China’s most touristy city, Huangshan黄山. In 1987, the prefecture of Huizhou徽州 was promoted as a prefecture-level city and simultaneously renamed after Mount Huangshan, a world-renowned attraction inscribed to the UNESCO world heritage list. The provincial authorities declared that the decision was crucial to “the protection, development and utilization of the scenic resources of Mount Huangshan.”

This move was deemed by many as a betrayal to the time-honored kaleidoscopic local traditions attached to Huizhou, which was also integral to the province’s name Anhui安徽. It was a decades-old feud, but the pain can still be felt. According to an online survey conducted by People’s Daily in 2016, 71.4 percent Chinese netizens are in favor of changing its name back. In 2017, Qian Niansun, a national legislator from Anhui Province, made a formal proposal to the National People’s Congress for Huizhou’s name rectification. Interestingly, Qian made the same argument that prompted Huangshan’s ascent 30 years ago, promoting tourism. Instead of singling out Mount Huangshan as a tourist destination, Qian regarded the entire Huizhou culture, including food, art, architecture, can be more compatible with the up-to-date tourism mode that emphasizes soaking-in experience.

However, the prospect of restoring Huizhou is dim. The local government of Huangshan has been adamant about maintaining status quo. In 2018, the then mayor made the first official response, saying that “Huizhou culture is strong enough not to be forgotten, whatever the name of the city.” Over 30 years into the new name, Huangshan City will find it extremely costly to switch it back, given it has already ranked the lowest in GDP among all prefectures in Anhui Province in 2022.