Place names in China


Place names in China primarily refers to Han Chinese names, but also to those used by China's minorities.

Origins

In his study of place-names in China, J. E. Spencer notes that "although Chinese names indicate both domestic cultural and geographical influences, they almost never indicate cultural influence from other parts of the world", a tendency that also appeared to be characteristic of Chinese place-names in Singapore.
Tibetan, Mongolian, Uighur and tribal minorities of China's names are phonetically transcribed into Chinese.

In Chinese grammar

Names for places in China, when referred to in Chinese contain a class identifier. In English this is often translated, while the rest of the name is not. The class identifier in Chinese is placed at the end, in English with the exceptions of mountains and lakes the identifier is placed at the end too. For names of lakes and mountains "X Lake" / "Lake X" and "X Mountain" / "Mount X" both is used.
Some mountain ranges like Tian Shan are referred to English by the Chinese name. "Tian" means sky or heaven and "Shan" means mountain, so Tian Shan literally translates as the "Heaven Mountains".

List of class names

E = English, C = Chinese, P = Pinyin
GroupClass Class Class Example Example
AdministrativeAutonomous Region自治区ZìzhìqūTibet Autonomous RegionXīzàng Zìzhìqū
AdministrativeProvince省ShěngHebei ProvinceHéběi Shěng
AdministrativeCounty县 / 縣-xianShe County, HebeiShè Xiàn
AdministrativeProvince 州-zhouGuizhou
AdministrativeAutonomous county自治县ZìzhìxiànDachang Hui Autonomous County
AdministrativeCity市ShìChengdu CityChéngdū Shì
AdministrativeDistrict区QūBincheng DistrictBīnchéng Qū
AdministrativeLeague盟MéngAlxa LeagueĀlāshàn Méng
AdministrativeAutonomous banner自治旗ZìzhìqíEvenk Autonomous BannerÈwēnkèzú Zìzhìqí
LandformMountains山脉Ailao MountainsĀiláo Shān
LandformMountain山ShānTianmu MountainTiānmù Shān
LandformPeak峰Feng
LandformIsland岛DǎoLiugong IslandLiúgōng Dǎo
LandformPlateau草原CǎoyuánBashang PlateauBàshàng Cǎoyuán
LandformPeninsula半岛BàndǎoShandong PeninsulaShāndōng Bàndǎo
LandformValley沟 Insukati Valley
LandformPass关GuānKunlun PassKūnlún Guān
LandformDesert沙漠ShāmòTaklamakan DesertTǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò
LandformGorge峡XiáWu GorgeWū Xiá
LandformBasin盆地PéndìTarim BasinTǎlǐmù Péndì
LandformCave洞DòngXianren CaveXiānrén Dòng
LandformPlain平原PíngyuánChengdu PlainChéngdū Píngyuán
LandformRock磯/矶JīSwallow RockYànzi Jī
Landform/WaterGlacier冰川bīnchuānMingyong Glacier
Landform/WaterSpring泉QuánBaimai SpringBǎimài Quán
Landform/WaterWaterfall瀑布PùbùHukou WaterfallHǔkǒu Pùbù
Landform/WaterRiver河HéHuai RiverHuái Hé
Landform/WaterRiver江JiāngChang RiverCháng Jiāng
Landform/WaterLake湖HúAyding LakeÀidīng Hú
Landform/WaterSea, X Gulf海HǎiBohai SeaBó Hăi
Landform/WaterBay灣WānBohai BayBóhǎi Wān
Landform/WaterStrait海峡HǎixiáTaiwan Strait
Landform/WaterReservoir水库ShuǐkùJiangkou ReservoirJiāngkǒu Shuǐkù
Landform/WaterHarbour港GangHong KongXiānggǎng

Directions

Chinese reckon five directions:
From the early concept of yin and yang, originally based upon exposure to the sun, many placenames also incorporate them. Old Luoyang was located on the north bank of the Luo. Old Hanyang was located on the north bank of the Han, while the eponymous county seat of Hanyin was located on the south bank. When a placename is derived from a mountain, however, these positions are reversed: the yang side is the mountain's south face and the yin side its north.