BEIJING, Jan. 20 -- Seoul's city government had decided to change its Chinese name, still known to Chinese by its ancient name of Hancheng.

    The new name combines two Chinese characters, Ê׶û, which produce the sound ¡°Shouer,¡± similar in pronunciation to the South Korean name Seoul, officials said.

    At present Chinese refer to Seoul as Hancheng (Hanseong in Korean), the Chinese name the city was known by in past centuries.

    ¡°The name Hanseong has not been used for nearly 100 years to refer to Seoul,¡± Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak said at a press conference Wednesday.

    ¡°It is a general perception in the world community and an international practice to call the capital city Seoul, not Hanseong.¡±

    Lee said the city government would use the new name in translations of official city documents and would request that China adopt it.

(Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)