In October 2017, McDonald’s mainland China operating company changed its registered name from 麦当劳(中国)有限公司 to 金拱门(中国)有限公司, Golden Arches (China) Co., Ltd. The restaurants did not change: they kept the name 麦当劳 (Màidāngláo) that Chinese customers know. The change to the company’s legal name still became a talking point, and many social media users mocked it.
For a hotel, resort or travel brand, the story is a clear illustration of a distinction that is easy to forget until it causes confusion: the legal name of the company and the name guests see are two different things, and both will be read.
IPPWORLD has never worked with McDonald’s. This article draws only on what was publicly reported at the time.
Key Takeaways
- McDonald’s changed the registered name of its mainland China company to 金拱门 (“golden arches”) in 2017, while its restaurants kept the consumer brand 麦当劳.
- The public noticed the legal name and talked about it, even though it was never meant to face customers. A legal name is public, and in China it can reach guests through official documents.
- Hospitality brands should decide deliberately how their legal and consumer-facing Chinese names relate, and explain the difference where guests might meet both.
What happened
The name change followed a change of ownership. Earlier in 2017, McDonald’s sold a majority stake in its mainland China and Hong Kong business to a group led by the Chinese conglomerate CITIC, together with the investment firm Carlyle, keeping a minority stake itself. Later that year the mainland operating company’s registered name was changed to 金拱门(中国)有限公司.
McDonald’s made clear that the change applied to the company, not the restaurants. The restaurants, menus and signs continued as 麦当劳, and customers ordering a meal would see no difference.
Once the new registration was noticed, it spread quickly on Chinese social media. Coverage at the time described widespread jokes about the new name, with many users saying it sounded unfashionable next to the familiar 麦当劳.
Two names, two jobs
The two names work in opposite ways, which is part of why the contrast drew attention.
| Name | Type | How it works | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 麦当劳 (Màidāngláo) | Phonetic | Characters chosen to sound like “McDonald’s” | Customers: restaurants, packaging, advertising, apps |
| 金拱门 (jīn gǒng mén) | Meaning-based | A direct translation of “golden arches”, the brand’s M logo | The company’s registered name: contracts, official records, formal documents |
A phonetic name like 麦当劳 links the Chinese brand to the global one by sound. A meaning-based name like 金拱门 says something about the brand’s best-known symbol in plain Chinese. Both are legitimate approaches. Our guide on how to name your hotel or brand in Chinese explains the phonetic, meaning-based and hybrid approaches in detail.
A legal name is not a marketing name, but it is still a name the public can read.
Why the legal name matters to a hospitality brand
Guests rarely think about who legally owns or operates a hotel, but they meet the legal name more often than brands expect. In hospitality, the brand on the building is often not the name of the company that owns or runs it. Owners, operating companies, franchisees and management companies each have registered names, and in Chinese-speaking markets those registered names are usually in Chinese.
Places a guest might see the legal name rather than the brand:
- Official invoices and receipts, which in mainland China carry the issuing company’s registered name.
- Payment confirmations, card statements and mobile payment screens.
- Booking contracts, terms and conditions, and privacy notices.
- Group, corporate and event contracts, where the counterparty is the legal entity.
- Licences and notices displayed on the premises.
A guest who sees an unfamiliar company name on an invoice may wonder whether the right business charged them. A short line linking the two names avoids that.
What hotels and travel brands can take from it
The lesson is not to avoid having two names. It is to manage them on purpose.
- Know every Chinese name your business uses. List the consumer brand name, each property name and every registered company name in Chinese, in both Simplified and Traditional characters where relevant.
- Decide how they relate. Some businesses keep the legal and consumer names close so guests recognise both. Others keep them deliberately separate. Either can work; drifting into it by accident does not.
- Explain the link where guests meet both. On invoices, payment pages and booking terms, a line such as “operated by” followed by the registered name helps guests connect the two.
- Expect anything public to be read. A registered name can be found and discussed. Before choosing one, read it the way a consumer would, not only the way a lawyer would.
- Keep the consumer name untouched. McDonald’s kept 麦当劳 on every restaurant. A change behind the scenes should not ripple into guest-facing content, signage or listings unless that is the intention.
Legal and trademark questions belong with your legal advisers; how each name reads to guests belongs with the people who write your Chinese content.
Keeping names consistent across every surface
Once the names are decided, the work is making sure they appear the same way everywhere. Record the approved consumer name, property names and legal names in both scripts in your brand guidelines and your glossary, so no writer, partner or platform improvises a variant. Our guides to Simplified vs Traditional Chinese for hotels and to keeping one brand voice across languages cover the script choice and how fixed terms are held over time.
At IPPWORLD, we are an award-winning transcreation agency that specialises in creative translation and marketing localisation for the hospitality, travel, lifestyle and retail sectors, named Best Hospitality Creative Translation & Localisation Agency 2019 at the LUXlife Hospitality Awards. We build a dedicated Translation Memory for each client, which keeps fixed terms such as brand and property names identical across the website, CRM and collateral.
Other public brand stories in this series: Coca-Cola’s Chinese name, Airbnb’s Chinese name and Red Bull in China.
Conclusion
McDonald’s China renamed the company and left the restaurants alone, and the public still noticed. For a hospitality brand the takeaway is practical: know every Chinese name your business uses, decide how they relate, explain the link wherever guests might see both, and keep the name on the door exactly as guests know it.
Next step
If your Chinese content is accurate but is not landing with the guests it targets, or your names appear inconsistently across platforms, an audit is the sensible first step. Our guide to running a translation audit when your marketing feels off explains what to look at. When you are ready, get in touch with IPPWORLD to explore options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did McDonald’s change its name in China?
Its mainland China operating company did. In October 2017 the registered company name changed from 麦当劳(中国)有限公司 to 金拱门(中国)有限公司, Golden Arches (China) Co., Ltd. The restaurants kept the consumer brand 麦当劳.
What does 金拱门 mean?
It translates as “golden arches”, a reference to the brand’s M logo. It is a meaning-based name, whereas the restaurant name 麦当劳 is phonetic, chosen to sound like “McDonald’s”.
Why did McDonald’s China change its company name?
The change followed the 2017 sale of a majority stake in McDonald’s mainland China and Hong Kong business to a group led by CITIC with Carlyle. The new registered name applied to the company; the restaurants continued as 麦当劳.
Did IPPWORLD work with McDonald’s?
No. IPPWORLD has never worked with McDonald’s. The story is included because it is public and widely reported, and because it carries a useful lesson for hospitality brands.
Should a hotel’s legal Chinese name match its brand name?
Not necessarily, but the relationship should be a deliberate choice. Where guests may see both, for example on invoices or booking terms, add a short line linking the registered company to the brand. Take trademark and registration questions to your legal advisers.