China, as read in English (map)

Whether you’ve tried to navigate your way from Zhongshan Nan Lu to Zhongshan Bei Lu – a conspicuously easy task anywhere outside China – or merely attempted to get from Point A to Point B in a small (read: English-free) Chinese city, you understand the trials and travails involved in Middle Kingdom map reading. Even if you’ve perused the China page in your world atlas and wondered why Yangzhou, Yongzhou, and Yangshuo aren’t all the same place, you’re in luck: There’s a map for that.

This fantastic map translates (literally) Chinese province and capital city names, making it easier for the non-China-initiated to make sense of the place. (Even those who’ve been may be surprised by the translations of a few of these. Like central metropolis Chongqing, “Heavy Celebration,” just north of “Expensive State” province.)

I’ll always be thankful to the residents of Cold Riverbank City in Forever State, South Lake province, for showing me the warmth of small-city Middle Kingdom. What’s the most interestingly named Chinese city (as translated into English) that you’ve visited?