Which cities in my country regretted changing their names?

There are four major ancient civilizations in the world. These four ancient countries have long cultures, but only one China has been passed down to this day. As an ancient country with a cultural history of five thousand years, China can inadvertently reveal its cultural heritage in many places, such as place names. Most place names may seem simple, but in fact there is a story behind them, and some have remained unchanged for thousands of years. This is the case with Handan, Changsha, and Jimo. However, some cities originally had nice names, but after they were changed, they were hard to describe.

Not only does it not sound better than before, but it has also lost its heritage. Today I will talk about a few cities in China that changed their names and made me regret it. Speaking of cities that changed their names to make people laugh or cry, Changshan is definitely one of them. When most people mention it, they will probably think of me as Changshan Zhao Zilong. Zhao Zilong is also the famous general Zhao Yun of the Three Kingdoms. Changshan is his hometown. This name should have been used since the end of Qin and the beginning of Han Dynasty. Originally it was supposed to be Mount Heng, but due to the name taboo of Emperor Liu Heng of Han Dynasty, it became Mount Chang.

Because the name of Changshan Zhao Zilong is so resounding, and of course the combination of the two together has a domineering effect, which makes people seem to be able to see the famous general at a glance. As a result, Changshan changed its name, which is now Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province. In other words, Zhao Yun can now be called - Shijiazhuang Zhao Zilong. His domineering attitude is gone, and as far as his name is concerned, he looks like a laborer who came out of the village. It is estimated that Shijiazhuang was also red-eyed from crying, sighed helplessly, and was unwilling to change its name.

Shijiazhuang’s eyes turned red from crying, and Hefei over there couldn’t help sobbing when he thought of his name change. Hefei is now home to two big fat people. It used to be called Luzhou, but people think Hefei is tacky mainly because modern people think that fat means obesity. In addition, Huizhou was renamed Huangshan, and Fuyu was renamed Songyuan. The former changed from a delicate Jiangnan into a mountain. The Huizhou culture it represents is not sure whether it is better to change the name or not.

If we want to change the name, won’t Hui merchants and Hui-style architecture have to be called Huang merchants and Huang-style architecture? This is a bit embarrassing, even more so than Zhao Zilong in Shijiazhuang. I don't know whether he has lost more or gained more by changing his name. Fuyu's name also has some poetic flavor. It doesn't sound like the cold northern border, but has some southern connotations. At the same time, it also inherited the name of an ancient country, but it was changed to Songyuan in one day. This name is a bit confusing.

Is it because there are too many pine trees? Or is it because it is at the southern end of the Songnen Plain? Or maybe it’s because it’s located on the banks of the Songhua River? I really don’t understand it, but the name Songwon sounds better than Buyeo. Runan is also one of the more interesting name changes. This name has already appeared in the Western Han Dynasty because it was named south of the Ru River. Yuan Shao during the Three Kingdoms period was from Runan, but now he probably has to be called Zhumadian Yuan Shao.

Because Runan was renamed Zhumadian, and the name Runan was given to a county under its jurisdiction. So a joke once appeared on the Internet. If Yuan Shao knew that Yuan Shao from Runan had become Yuan Shao from Zhumadian, he would definitely be furious. There is also a name change from Jiuyuan to Baotou, which is also a relatively speechless name change. There are many allusions to the name Jiuyuan. It was one of the thirty-six counties of the Qin Dynasty and the birthplace of Lu Bu, but now it is called Baotou.

Of course, it’s not just cities whose nice-sounding names have become rustic, there are also some places whose names have become nicer after being changed. Zhongdian was renamed Shangri-La, and Su County was renamed Suzhou. In fact, although the changed names may not be as grand and beautiful as before. But there is also a unique cultural and historical significance behind it, so we should respect history and let every city name with a story be passed down.