Quick Answer: What Does Laozihao Mean?
Laozihao (老字号, lǎozìhào) means a long-established business name or brand. China’s national designation, Zhonghua Laozihao (中华老字号, Zhōnghuá Lǎozìhào), recognizes brands with a documented history, distinctive cultural character and an operating business that carries that heritage forward.[1]
- Brand age: The national program requires the brand to have been founded at least 50 years ago.[1]
- Business continuity: The applicant’s principal business must have operated continuously for at least 30 years.[1]
- Examples: The designation covers restaurants, pharmacies and makers of everyday goods such as scissors.[2][3][4]
An old shop name may describe generations of local trade. To confirm national recognition, look up the brand and operator in the Ministry of Commerce directory.[1][5]
A lacquered shop sign can outlast a lease, a family owner and even the original storefront. Laozihao is useful because it brings the history of that familiar name into view alongside the business that keeps using it.
What National Time-Honored Brand Recognition Covers
| Requirement | What the national program looks for |
|---|---|
| The brand | At least 50 years since founding, a distinctive cultural character and a recognized contribution in its field.[1] |
| The operating company | At least 30 years of continuous principal business and a clear, documented relationship to the trade name or trademark.[1] |
| The product, skill or service | A continuing connection to everyday life and a recognizable economic and cultural contribution.[1] |
Under China’s 2023 measures, businesses apply to have a particular brand recognized. The Ministry of Commerce administers the national list with four other departments. Provinces can also run their own recognition programs. A brand listed by a city or province has a designation at that level.[1][5]
Three Examples of Laozihao in Daily Life
Quanjude (全聚德, Quánjùdé), founded in 1864, is associated with hung-oven roast duck. The duck is suspended inside a heated oven. The business history runs through the workers who carried on that method and the restaurants that served the dish. It is one of several names readers will encounter in the history of Утка по-пекински and its place in Beijing food culture.[2][6]
Tongrentang (同仁堂, Tóngréntáng) traces its brand to 1669. The Ministry of Commerce records the Beijing brand in the pharmacy sector. Here, the old name connects pharmacy work, a retail business and the wider history of traditional Chinese medicine in China.[3]
Zhang Xiaoquan (张小泉, Zhāng Xiǎoquán) is associated with scissors and blades. A Shanghai Intellectual Property Court account describes how separate Hangzhou and Shanghai businesses used related names. Their histories illustrate a distinction the designation takes seriously. A familiar name can carry regional associations, while the current company and registered mark can have a more specific legal identity.[1][4][7]
How to Read an Old Shop Sign
Start with the name on the sign, then check the company name in the national directory. Look for the locality and the brand listed for that operator. A claim such as “founded in 1864” refers to a date in a brand’s history. A formal recognition date records a much later administrative decision. The two dates answer different questions.[2][5]
The ministry’s directory also recognizes Xinghuacun, a Shanxi brand associated with light-aroma baijiu. The directory gives the brand’s name and company. A label on the bottle gives the type of spirit. Guides such as the comparison of baijiu and vodka can help make sense of that label.[9]
That distinction makes old signs a way into Chinese merchant culture and its history of trade names. A shop address may change while customers still recognize a product, a method of making it or the region associated with it. On the national list, a review can also change the designation’s status.[1][5][8]
FAQs About Laozihao
Does Every Old Chinese Shop Count as a Laozihao?
In everyday speech, the term can describe an old, reputed shop or brand. The specific national designation is conferred under Ministry of Commerce criteria and recorded in its directory.[1][5]
Do the 50-Year and 30-Year Rules Measure the Same Thing?
The 50-year minimum is the age of the brand. The 30-year minimum is how long the company’s main business has operated continuously. Both are part of the national program’s criteria.[1]
Can a Business Lose National Recognition?
The designation is subject to review. The Ministry of Commerce and partner departments can assess whether a listed business still meets the program’s conditions.[1][8]
Источники
[1] Ministry of Commerce and four other departments. Measures for the Recognition and Management of China Time-Honored Brands
[2] Ministry of Commerce Time-Honored Brands Digital Museum. Quanjude Brand Record
[3] Ministry of Commerce Time-Honored Brands Digital Museum. Tongrentang Brand Record
[4] Shanghai Intellectual Property Court. Who May Use the Zhang Xiaoquan Brand?
[5] Ministry of Commerce. China Time-Honored Brands Information and Directory
[6] Beijing Municipal Government. Quanjude: Time-Honored Brand and Tradition
[7] Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce. Shanghai Time-Honored Brand Directory
[8] Ministry of Commerce and four other departments. Notice on the Review of China Time-Honored Brands
[9] Ministry of Commerce of China. Xinghuacun in the Time-Honored Brands Digital Museum