The Manhattan neighborhood, Venice Garden, the Vienna hotel chain — to the ears of the Chinese government, the names are too foreign-sounding and must go.
Provinces and cities across China have been issuing notices pressuring both private and public officials to rename businesses, bridges and neighborhoods.
The move came to light after Vienna Hotels, which according to its website operates 2,500 properties in China, fought back on social media this week, and other users jumped in to ridicule the move.
Buildings and residential areas that have been criticized "for worshiping foreign things"
China's Ministry of Civil Affairs confirmed Friday that the campaign is underway, but said that some local governments are not implementing the new rule accurately. It maintained though that foreign names have an ugly social influence that needs to be cleaned up.
Beijing wants to eradicate place and property names, like “East Rome’s Garden”, that are influenced by foreign or “weird” words.
The post on the ministry's website added that along with foreign names, names that are "weird, repetitive, or self-aggrandizing" should also be changed.
Local governments, from Inner Mongolia in the north to Hainan island off the southern coast, have been sending out instructions urging the change.
Many Chinese properties, like the Vienna International Hotel, incorporate famous foreign places into their names.