In China, the construction of oversized skyscrapers is now banned

Misconceptions of grandeur in Chinese medium-sized cities will soon have no place. The Chinese authorities will indeed impose strict rules on urban construction in cities with less than 3 million inhabitants – the largest cities in the country counting several thousand of the inhabitants.

The Chinese government has announced that the construction of skyscrapers over 150 meters will now be strictly limited in these cities. Even buildings over 250 meters will be prohibited. To build a building over 150 meters, property developers will now have to apply for an exemption. In recent years, urban planning regulators and specialists have questioned the need for these massive buildings in medium-sized cities. Some refer to them as “forgotten projects”, built solely to highlight and make history, the BBC reports.

China, a country that respects skyscrapers

However, China is a country of hurricanes: it has half of the top ten towers in the world. The tallest in the country, the Shanghai Tower, rises to 632 meters and occupies the second place of the world podium, behind Burj Khalifa in Dubai and its 828 meters. But the authorities are struggling to manage these huge buildings, the “Guardian” reports.

The safety of these urban giants is often feared in the media, such as the fires that ravaged the towers of two Chinese cities this year. In May, a 300-meter tower in Shenzhen city mysteriously shook, though the weather was fine and no earthquake shook the city. Involved: light wind, but also the presence of an underground rail and the temperature change. Hundreds of people had stormed out of the tower, and the building was closed.

The government has also recognized the environmental problems associated with these oversized, resource-intensive buildings to build. The Ministry of Housing and Urban and Rural Development says it is calling on cities to tighten control over the ecological impact of these buildings.

“Ugly” architecture prohibited

This is not the first time China has interfered with the architecture of its cities. The National Development and Restoration Commission previously restricted the construction of buildings over 250 meters and banned skyscrapers over 500 meters in cities with more than three million inhabitants – a height already significant and rarely reached in Chinese cities. Other related directives include a ban on “stolen” or “copied” buildings from others, such as the reported at the time CNN .

More than the height of buildings, China wants to control their beauty. As early as 2014, President Xi Jinping condemned ‘strange’ buildings which was growing up like mushrooms in his country . Last April, the government banned “ugly” architecture in favor of “good, economical, green and beautiful” buildings.