Inspired by Avatar’s sensational success in China, Zhangjiajie—a tourist spot in Hunan province—announced the renaming of one of its most famous landmarks. Boasting a realistic resemblance to the floating mountain in the movie, the craggy peak formerly known as “South Sky Pillar” will now be called “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain”.

The renaming soon aroused a heated discussion in China. Many people strongly opposed the renaming the mountain for the sole purpose of making it more appealing to foreigners without regard for cultural heritage, while some agreed that the renaming helps raise awareness of Zhangjiajie as a tourist spot.

Is Zhangjiajie’s renaming a successful marketing move? Zhangjiajie officials have said that they intended to build “an international tourism brand” to promote Zhangjiajie by capitalizing on the fame of the Hollywood blockbuster.

The first of a series of “promotional events” started with the creation of a special office on the 21st of January to promote the “Avatar theme tour”. A renaming ceremony was held four days later by local authorities, attended by hundreds of people. An official statement was then made on the local government’s website, saying that tourists can now join a “Magical tour to Avatar-Pandora” or a “Miracle tour to Avatar’s floating mountain”. Furthermore, they even planned to invite James Cameron, Avatar’s director, to Zhangjiajie in order to bestow him the title of “honorary citizen” and to offer him a free lifetime ticket to Zhangjiajie.

Many criticized these actions as being over the top; however, as the saying goes, “There is no such thing as bad publicity.” At the very least, Zhangjiajie has made itself more known both in China and abroad.

Whether the renaming will be successful or not remains to be seen, but when it comes to branding in tourism, short term planning and promotion should not take priority over long term brand building. It is important to highlight and strengthen the cultural and historical essence of a landmark instead of giving it a completely new image merely for the sake of following a sudden trend.