Malham Cove could become White Cliff Reborn in Fire
The results of a curious exercise in giving some of Britain’s finest landscapes new names have been revealed.
Glen Coe is, not surprisingly, Splendid and Beautiful Valley, while Dartmoor is a Quirky Wilderness.
Tourist agency VisitBritain sought the opinions of Chinese Mandarin speakers for the most appropriate names in their language for a host of tourist hotspots.
Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales was given the prosaic Mandarin equivalent of White Cliff with Water Crossed. A Yorkshire Dales national park spokesperson said: “In China it is popular to give names to favourite celebrities, places and foods that give a literal description of what Chinese people think about these things.
“For example, Stonehenge is called Ju Shi Zhen, Huge Stone Clusters, while the Beatles were renamed Pi Tou Shi, Gentlemen with Long Hair.”
Alternative names for the 80m limestone crag near the village of Malham were White Cliff Reborn in Fire and Vast White Cliff Spreading Miles.
Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority chairman Peter Charlesworth said: “It is fantastic that a feature of the Yorkshire Dales national park is being looked at and talked about in China.
“The country has a huge pool of tourists and anything that can tempt them to come here in the future can only be good for our communities.
“Latest figures show there were 196,000 visits to Britain from China in 2013, contributing £492m to the UK’s economy. While some Chinese visitors do come to the national park now, we would like to have more. It would be good for the economy of our communities and would help yet again to showcase this fantastic countryside to the world.”
Lulworth Cove on the South West Coast Path has been given the Mandarin sobriquet of Waves Kissing Bay.
Glen Coe, Splendid and Beautiful Valley
There is still a final step in the process before the definitive Chinese names are applied to British landmarks and customs.
Members of an independent judging panel, which includes a leading Chinese journalist, celebrity and language expert, are now sifting through the suggestions received before picking the overall winning names next month.
Finalists in the Dartmoor naming exercise are: Ta Mao Guang Yuan, translated in English as Grazing on Fertile Grasslands; Duo Te Mei Qi Jing, meaning Multiple Beauty and Qi Qu Yuan Ye, translated as Quirky Wilderness.
Hadrian’s Wall could be named Yong Heng Zhi Ji, Wall of Eternity; Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire Bo Han Qi Yan, a Lot of Rocks in Different Shapes, and Llanfair-pwllgwyn-gyllgo-gery-chwyrn-drobwll-llanty-silio-gogo-goch in north Wales Healthy-Lung Village, presumably on the basis you need a good set of lungs to pronounce the name.
Haggis has been translated as Made of Sheep’s Stomach and Smells Good.
