Can you name a road after yourself in Beijing?

The story of how one man named a road after himself in Beijing has been widely circulated on the internet recently, the newspaper Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Some internet users said the man's move was funny, but others questioned whether the move violated relevant regulations.

According to the article, Ge Yulu found an unnamed road and set up a homemade road sign declaring it Ge Yu Lu at both ends.

Born in 1990 in Wuhan, Hubei province, Ge is a postgraduate student in China Central Academy of Fine Arts since 2014. Part of his name, Lu, means road in Chinese.

Ge's target was a short road between Baiziwan Road and Baiziwan South No 2 Road dividing a local community in Chaoyang district near the Fourth Ring Road of southeastern Beijing into northern and southern sections. It takes about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other.

Ge's homemade Ge Yu Lu signs have gradually convinced people the name is real.

Ge Yu Lu first appeared as the road name in 2014 on Amap, China's leading provider of digital maps, navigation and location-based services. One year later, Baidu Maps also accepted the name.

A man who worked in the community for a long time said that the road existed when the community was established in 2007. In the beginning, the road had no name, but later, people called it Gu Yu Lu because of the road signs. He did not know when the road signs were set up.

A neighborhood committee worker said the road is registered as Baiziwan South No 1 Road.

According to relevant regulations, only a special government office can name roads and places, a worker at the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning said.

The worker said that while online maps have recorded the road name as Ge Yu Lu, it does not equal an official naming. Individuals are not allowed to make and set up road signs randomly, and the signs will be dismantled.

Ge said he never expected the name to be recorded by mapping software. As Ge Yu Lu is now widely known, he is happy, but also a little worried that it does not comply with relevant regulations.