Changchun = Everlasting Spring = Oxymoron

Chinese television journalist Zhu Bo's (朱波) lamentation of Changchun (长春) in Jilin province (吉林省), made me laughed.

Recalling his trip to the north-eastern Chinese city on an assignment in the depths of winter, Zhu said that while quivering and trembling in the cold, he stared in fury at the words "长春" (Changchun) and hissed:

"多么无耻啊! 这种天气，也敢自诩“长春”。”

"How shameless! With weather like this, how dare it calls itself "changchun" (or "everlasting spring"?)

Even though the cold was indeed oppressive when I visited Changchun in winter, I have never looked at the meaning of "Changchun" quite so literally - until Zhu's observation, that is.