Hadrian's Wall adopts new Mandarin name: "Wall of Eternity"

A section of Hadrian's Wall near the Birdoswald Roman Fort. Credit: PA

After ten weeks of voting in China,VisitBritain has revealed the new Mandarin names for 101 points of interest across Britain, suggested by the Chinese public for the ‘GREAT Names for GREAT Britain’ campaign.

Out of three possible naming suggestions chosen by the Chinese public, Hadrian’s Wall has decided to adopt a new Mandarin name, which translates in English as “Wall of Eternity”.

Other name suggestions included “Great wall of Britain” and “Ancient wall with everlasting charm.”

Now that the winning names have been revealed, VisitBritain is encouraging the points of interest in question to use their new Chinese name to help create connections with valuable,high-spending Chinese tourists.

Hadrian’s Wall has chosen to embrace its new Mandarin name and today unveiled a sign welcoming visitors to Housesteads Roman Fort with the new name.

Liz Page, Historic PropertiesDirector for English Heritage in the North,said:

Seven points of interest across Yorkshire were also given new Mandarin names:

  • Whitby - Mu Guang Zhi Cheng - Twilight Town (based on the popular US movie)

  • Malham Cove - Bai Ya Fei Quan - White cliff with water crossed

  • The Shambles in York - Ling Bo Wei Bu Xiang - A narrow street for strolling

  • Fountains Abbey - Lu Quan Xiu Yuan -An abbey with deers and fountains

  • Castle Howard - Peng Lai Qiong Yu - Magnificent fairyland palace

  • Harrogate - Hai Le Men - Happy Sea Gate

The most recent inbound tourism figures show that in the first nine months of 2014, Britain welcomed 156,000visits from China which contributed £411 million to the UK’s economy.

Chinese tourists currently spend an average of £2,508 per visit compared to the overall average spend of £640 per visit.