Xi'an Puts Ceiling on Its Building Heights

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 ◆ Xi'an Puts Ceiling on Its Building Heights

The Xi'an Municipal People's Congress has adopted a regulation to better protect the ancient city with a history of more than 3,000 years.

The regulation stipulates the height of buildings that will be constructed near the ancient structures, said Hai Lan, an official with the Xi'an Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Bureau.

Buildings 20 metres or less from the inner side of the City Wall must be demolished. And buildings 100 metres or less from the city wall cannot be more than 9 metres tall.

The 12-metre-tall Xi'an City Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as an extension of the old Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) structure. It was rebuilt in the 1980s by the local government and is one of the few ancient city walls protected in China.

It is now a popular tourist attraction.

But a few homes and businesses built without permission along the inner side of the city wall make the wall look unsightly, the official said.

The new regulation stipulates new buildings in the area surrounded by the 12-kilometre-long city wall should not be more than 36 metres in height, while new buildings within 60 metres of the outside of the city wall should be less than 24 metres tall.

Xi'an, one of six ancient cities in China, used to serve intermittently as the capital of 11 dynasties for 1,068 years. A large number of ancient ruins remain in and around the city.

The regulation prohibits activities harmful to the ancient ruins, such as the excavation of soil and sand and the construction of pools and fish ponds.

"We will also pay more attention to the protection of ancient buildings, streets and zones. Any renovations of these old buildings should be true to their original look. We expect to better protect our ancient city with these efforts and attract more tourists," the official said.