Metro replaces English translation with Pinyin for place names

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According to the report from Da Wan News: On the evening of October 9th, Mr. Hu, a resident of Hefei, was traveling on Hefei Metro Line 3 and, while passing by Hefei Railway Station, he unexpectedly noticed that the station's English translation had been changed to Pinyin, and the voice announcements had also been updated.

"'Hefei Railway Station' was translated as 'Hefei Huochezhan.' it is better not to have such translation at all", someone complained.

Is this change appropriate? On October 10th, Da Wan News reporters conducted interviews with various parties regarding this matter.

Hefei Metro Group Corporation responded that the naming of Hefei Metro stations is based on the "Regulations on the Administration of Place Names," which was implemented on May 1, 2022 (State Council Decree No. 753). Article 3 of the "Regulations on the Administration of Place Names" stipulates that place names include names of transportation facilities with significant geographical significance. Article 15 of the "Regulations on the Administration of Place Names" specifies that the Roman letter spelling of place names should follow the "Hanyu Pinyin Scheme" as a unified standard, spelled according to the rules formulated by the State Council's place name administrative authority in conjunction with relevant departments.

"Hefei Metro Station names belong to standard place names, and according to the relevant regulations, Hefei Metro, in conjunction with the higher competent authorities, invited industry experts to organize and implement the determination," a staff member from Hefei Metro Transit Company responded. In October 2022, Hefei Metro also explained and clarified the spelling and translation principles of subway station signage through its official WeChat account for the benefit of the city's passengers.

From Hefei Metro Transit's official public account, the subway station names are spelled in Hanyu Pinyin when they are used as the names of subway stations. For example: Hefei Railway Station is spelled as Hefei Huochezhan, Hefei South Station is Hefei Nanzhan, and Hefei West Station is Hefei Xizhan.

On the afternoon of October 10th, reporters contacted Wang Jiwan, a senior translator from Anhui Province, for consultation. "Hefei Railway Station, National University of Defense Technology, Anhui Agricultural University... these 'institutions' when naming subway stations are actually a kind of 'place name,' referring to that location, not a specific unit. Therefore, it is reasonable and compliant to spell place names using Pinyin, and there are documents to support this," Wang Jiwan said, and both the United Nations and the Chinese government have relevant requirements and have issued related documents.

At the same time, Wang Jiwan stated, "Countries around the world spell place names according to their own pronunciation. Using English to label place names is not international; English is just one of the official languages of the United Nations." In general, in subway stations where there are no arrows pointing, it is still considered a 'place name' and should be spelled in Pinyin.

Regarding this situation, reporters also contacted the Geographic Names Office of the Civil Affairs Bureau in Hefei. Yang Dong, a staff member of that office, shares the same view as Wang Jiwan. He stated that according to the Chinese Roman letter spelling method (international standard), "spelling 'Hefei Railway Station' in Pinyin as 'Hefei Huochezhan' is correct, and similar institutions used as place names should indeed be spelled in Pinyin."

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