The fact that foreign companies invest a lot of effort and brainpower in translating their brand names into Chinese has been widely discussed. The result is sometimes rather colorful creations like „Precious Horse“ (宝马 Bǎomǎ – BMW), „Gateway to the West“ (西门子 Xīménzǐ – Siemens) or „Sparrow’s Nest“ (雀巢 Quècháo – Nestlé). But how did well-known Chinese platforms like Taobao, Douyin, Baidu actually get their names? A look behind the linguistic curtain offers some surprises. Let’s go!