Chinese give Mandarin names to British tourist attractions, celebrities and food
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British tourist attractions, celebrities and dishes are being given bizarre or amusing names as they are translated into Mandarin in China.
It's all part of a promotional campaign launched by VisitBritain to encourage Chinese tourists to visit the UK.
Their wacky suggestions for Scotland's Highland Games include 'Special Skirt Party' while long Welsh village names such as Llanfairpwllgwyngyll are being called 'Martian Village', 'Word Puzzle Town' or 'The Endless'.
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Already established names include Ju Shi Zhen - literally 'huge stone clusters' - for Stonehenge
VisitBritain is inviting Chinese residents to name UK attractions such as The Shard
The Chinese give Mandarin names to famous people, events, places and food, and they usually end up being literal translations.
Already established names in China include Ju Shi Zhen - literally 'huge stone clusters'- for Stonehenge and Jian Qiao - Sword Bridge – for Cambridge.
Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is known as Curly Fu – for his floppy hair and his role as Sherlock Holmes, as 'fu' is short for Holmes in Mandarin.
And his sidekick Watson is known as Peanut, which originates from the Chinese translation of Martin Freeman's name, 'Hua Sheng', sounding like the Mandarin word for nut.
Shakespeare is Sha Weng (Mr Sha), The Beatles are Pi Tou Shi (gentlemen with long hair), and Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean character is Han Dou (inept person).
Dorset's Cerne Abbas Giant, a chalk hill figure famously depicting a large naked man with an erect penis, becomes 'Fertility Giant'.
And Hadrian's Wall in the north of England becomes 'The Stone Wall', 'Freedom Road', 'Glory Road' or 'Mountain Earthworm'.
Hadrian's Wall translates into 'The Stone Wall', 'Freedom Road', 'Glory Road' or 'Mountain Earthworm'
Suggestions for The Beatles include Pi Tou Shi (gentlemen with long hair)
The wacky ideas are the result of tourism body VisitBritain asking the Chinese to nominate names for 101 iconic British landmarks that currently lack them.
It is part of the tourism body's £1.6m 'GREAT names for GREAT Britain campaign'.
In the capital, names are needed for The Shard, Tower of London's Beefeaters, The Mall, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palace.
Regional sites include Brighton Pier, Beachy Head, the Cotswolds, Blackpool, Rhossili Bay, the Wales Coastal Path and Giant's Causeway.
Benedict Cumberbatch is nicknamed Curly Fu – for his floppy hair and his role as Sherlock Holmes
Names are needed for a variety of food items, including haggis, Devon cream tea and Stilton cheese
In Scotland, there is Balmoral Castle, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the kilt.
The Chinese are also being invited to name food items, including the Cornish pasty, Devon cream tea and Stilton cheese.
Sally Balcombe, VisitBritain's chief executive, said: 'Our ambition is to get the whole of China talking about Britain.
'We know that the desire to visit Britain amongst the Chinese is stronger than ever before.
'This campaign will not only increase awareness of the experiences that Britain has to offer but help encourage these valued Chinese guests to explore our nations and regions.'
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