Message from Clay Dube

[clay dube]

Place names are fascinating things. How many know the origins of the name California?

A Chinese town recently lobbied for and won the right to rename itself. That's striking since China is a place where having been called something for a long time is a source of pride (why do the Shanghai license places use the character "hu"?). What is even more amazing is that this place came up with a name from an English novel. I recently visited Xianggelila in Yunnan province and found it fascinating. The novel, Lost Horizon, by James Hilton was turned into a successful film by the same name. In it a plane carrying Westerners has to land in an isolated paradise: Shangri-La.

The town, previously called Zhongdian, fought to get this name, mindful that tourist money would certainly follow. Please take a look at the attached article on the name change.

What does this suggest about the importance of global images to China today? What does it say about the importance of tourism to the Chinese economy?