After many other ideas have fallen through, I think I'll be going to China about 7 days in May. But it's so big! Inner Mongolia sounds cool; is it worth traveling around Hohhot? I could go surfing in Hainan, but how is the beach compared to Ha Long Bay, or Copacabana, or Playas del Este...? [more inside]
posted by whatzit on Apr 10, 2009 - 15 answers

What's up with Chinese place names? When I was a kid looking at a map of China, it showed the capital as 'Peking(Peiping)'. Now it's Beijing, and there are other places like Guangzhou that used to have a name I recognized. I first noticed this in the late 80's and with people I knew who had gone there, but now it's ubiquitous. My question is not about why or if China changed the name, but why did the US usage change. Why just China? (we don't say Lisboa, Firenze, München, Moskva, etc.) [more inside]
posted by MtDewd on May 2, 2007 - 34 answers