The rebranding has come about due to the upcoming Beijing Olympics as officials look forward to the influx of foreign tourists.

Brands including the famed roast duck restaurant Quanjude and traditional Chinese pharmacy Tongrentang retain their pinyin names but now have explanatory slogans tacked on.

Quanjude is now 'Quanjude Peking Roast Duck -- Since 1864' and Tongrentang is now 'Tongrentang Chinese Medicine -- Since 1669.'

"The translations give prominence to the history of the brands, while giving English speakers an idea of what they are or what they sell," said Professor Wang Dili, dean of the translation faculty at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

"The uniform structures serve as examples and will make translations of famous Chinese brands more standardised in future."

The companies involved have expressed their satisfaction with the move.

"We will consider registering a trademark and promoting the new names internationally," said Shi Binfeng, vice president of Quanjude.

But ordinary Chinese people are unhappy about the dilution of their culture.

"What Beijing brands need most aren't Western names, rather they should strengthen their brands and add value to the name," said an anonymous poster on Yahoo China's site.

The issue of naming has been provoking heated debate in China for sometime.

Zhao Qizheng, dean of the School of Journalism at Beijing's Renmin University, wants the Beijing Opera to adopt the term 'Jingju', the pinyin term for the artform.

Qizheng argued that Chinese operas are so different from their Western counterparts that it would cause confusion for English speakers.

In the northern city of Tianjin, 'Gou Bu Li' dumplings have controversially been rebranded as 'Go Believe.'

"Gou Bu Li has hundreds of years worth of history, and a great story behind the name," said a poster on the ganji.com site.

"If it is given a Western name, then all meaning will be lost."