Chinese nationalists are annoyed about colonial-era place names
Vladivostok, Tibet and Hong Kong are in their sights
At the start of a three-day visit to Moscow on March 20th, China’s president, Xi Jinping, was welcomed by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, with a feast featuring quail, venison and pavlova. At home, the thoughts of some Chinese nationalists were focused on another Russian city—one famous for its sea cucumbers, a popular Chinese delicacy. In China, the far-eastern Russian city of Vladivostok has been known traditionally as Haishenwai, meaning “sea-cucumber bay”. More to the point, as these patriots point out, it was once ruled by China.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Sea-cucumbers & fragrant harbours”
From the April 1st 2023 edition
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