The Man Who Named a Road After His Name

In 2017, Ge Yulu, 27, a graduate with a Master’s degree in Experimental Art from China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), rose to fame in China because of one of his works of art: he had secretly named a road in Beijing after himself three years ago, and nobody found out that the road sign was fabricated until he used this art work as his graduate project. Lu (路) means “road” in Chinese. Thus Ge Yulu, the three-character Chinese name, looks perfectly like the name for a road: Ge Yu Road. Ge referred his art work as a rebellious, humorous and lively act towards the solemnity of Beijing.

The mischief became reality in 2014 when Ge’s colleague discovered that the road under his name had appeared in multiple map applications and told Ge about it. Later Beijing authorities claimed that the road had a name since 2005 and the road sign was removed due to regulations.