Alternative Country/ City names in Chinese

[Koneko]

It's quite interesting to know that London is also known as "City of Fog" in Chinese.

I also know the followings:-

Paris = City of Flowers

Taiwan = Treasure Island

Hong Kong = Pearl of the Orient

Macao = Las Vegas of the Orient

Singapore = Lion City

Malaysia = Giant Horse?

I am hoping to compile a list of alternative Country/ City names in Chinese.

Please help me to expand this list if you know your country's / city's nicknames in Chinese.

Thanks!

[doumeizhen]

周庄 （Zhouzhuang, outside of Shanghai) - The Venice of the East

According to their tourism board.

[michfr]

Old Gold Hill: San Francisco

[Jizzosh]

Las Vegas, is most commonly referred to as (I can't write the characters on my work PC):

Du3cheng2, or Gambling city.

[Ardison]

chénɡ du = xiū xián zhī dōu = City of Pleasure

成 都 = 休 闲 之 都

chónɡ qìnɡ = shān chénɡ = City of Mountains

重 庆 = 山 城

lú zhōu = zhōnɡ ɡuó jiǔ chénɡ = China Wine City

泸 州 = 中 国 酒 城

yí bīn = wàn lǐ chánɡ jiānɡ dì yì chénɡ = First City of Yangzi River

宜 宾 = 万 里 长 江 第 一 城

[Koneko]

I think, Sydney is known as "Snowy Pear" in Taiwanese Chinese!!

[Prodigal Son]

It's quite interesting to know that London is also known as "City of Fog" in Chinese.

how do you say this in Chinese? the only way I know how to say London is 伦敦

[skylee]

how do you say this in Chinese? the only way I know how to say London is 伦敦

霧都 (wu4 du1)

[Paolo]

I am from Treviso, a town near Venice (the real Italian one of course)... so, when in China, I always get sick at people telling me that I am from 水城 or "The City of Water" and asking if I had a boat instead of a car!

[adrianlondon]

Nearly every chinese guy I've met who hasn't been abroad (that's most of 'em) ask "oh, London has lots of fog! Worse than Beijing, right?". I point out that London's fog problem was sorted out in the 60's and was due only to coal heating, so didn't really have the nasty pollutants that Beijing's smog has.

I can only assume that their national curriculum (should such a thing exist) has "Oh my golly gosh, London is awfully foggy again, what ho!" in their English Language book somewhere.

[skylee]

Or maybe they are taught at school to appreciate Monet's paintings.

[Koneko]

Ardison chénɡ du = xiū xián zhī dōu = City of Pleasure

成 都 = 休 闲 之 都

Just curious here.

What do they actually do in Chengdu to entertain themselves?

[imron]

Ardison chénɡ du = xiū xián zhī dōu = City of Pleasure

成 都 = 休 闲 之 都

I think maybe they mean city of leisure. 休闲 != pleasure.

[skylee]

What do they actually do in Chengdu to entertain themselves?

They play mahjong. And they spend time on good food and good tea.

[Koneko]

Ha ha.. Thanks Skylee. They must be really good at mahjong then!

Hey, I found another rather peculiar name for Japan!

It's 东赢. Literally, the winning East? I don't quite understand this though. Didn't they lose in WWII? Does it have anything to do with the war?

[skylee]

No, it is 東瀛 (note the water radical).

It is also called 扶桑.

[Koneko]

Ha ha... Apologies for my mistake!

Now I can see why it's called 东瀛.

It can be broadly interpretated as "Ocean across the East"?! Pretty much like 东洋!!

See link for the original meaning of 瀛http://www.iciba.com/search?s=%E7%80%9B&x=29&y=9

I am curious about 扶桑 now!!

And I have come up with a rather interesting discovery...

You might need an atlas to visualise this:- map of Japan looks like a silkworm. And if you include Mongolia into China, they look like a giant mulberry leave!! Maybe in the ancient times, there were a lot of Japanese pirates pillaging in China to support Japan. Hence, they were nicknamed as 扶桑 (Supporting the silkworm?!)

Does anyone know why Japan is also known as 扶桑 then?

I also learnt that ancient China is known as 中原

[skylee]

This is copied from the online Xinhua Dictionary ->

扶桑

fúsāng

(1)

[red hibiscus]∶亦名朱槿,锦葵科植物。花冠大型,是著名观赏植物

(2)

[a kind of tree] 神话中的树木名

汤谷上有扶桑,十日所浴。――《山海经·海外东经》。郭璞注:“扶桑,木也。”郝懿行笺疏:“扶当为榑。《说文》云:“榑桑,神木,日所出也。”

(3)

后用来称东方极远处或太阳出来的地方

扶桑开朝晕,此高台端。――《文选·陆士衡·乐府·日出东南隅行》

行乎东极之外,经扶桑之中林。――左思《吴都赋》

(4)

[mystic island,usually indicating Japan]∶传说中的东方海域的古国名,我国相沿以为日本的代称

扶又若荠。――王维《送秘书晁监还日本国·序》

扶桑正是秋光好,枫叶如丹照嫩寒。――鲁迅《送增田君归国》

赤县扶桑一衣带水。――郭沫若《沁园春》

[Koneko]

Thanks again Skylee.

Ironically, I came across this from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus

The City of Hibiscus is another name for the city of Chengdu in China.

It must be like a heaven in Chengdu where you can play mahjong, enjoy good food and watch hibiscuses blooming!!

[Koneko]

Ancient India = 天兰