Beijing Skyline to Be Scrubbed Clean of Rooftop Advertisements
The face of Beijing continues to change again as the city cracks down on rooftop signs and advertisements in order to "restore its skyline."
According to the "Beijing Municipal Identifying Sign Set-Up Management Regulations," buildings over three stories high will only be allowed to have rooftop signs of the building's name. Local companies and businesses will be restricted to displaying their names on signs no higher than three stories.
A falling sign bodes ill-will
Besides forbidding the use of reflective materials and external light sources for outdoor signs, the new law will also place building restrictions on height, color, public space, landscape, and even public-use furniture.
Authorities will be especially harsh on "knife signs," so-called for extending beyond the silhouette contours of a building and "cutting" into the sky (example below).
Pictured: A "knife sign" cutting into the sky
Cui Xuan, the City Management Committee's director for advertising management, explained that the new rule is necessary to "restore Beijing's skyline."
"Because the city skyline is the dividing line between the ground and the sky, it should be gentle and orderly," Cui explained.
Three-hundred signs have already been taken down so far, including a well-staffed operation for the Zhongguancun Internet Education and Innovation Center as reported by NetEase. As seen by in an earlier photo, multiple signs adorned a single building indicating different businesses located inside.
A lot of guys with yellow hard hats, and somebody else standing to the right
Set to wrap up by the end of the year, this initiative is the latest development in Beijing's ongoing urban renewal campaign that has previously targeted hutong businesses and the "Dirty Bar Street" in Sanlitun.
It's worth noting that Chinese take their signs very seriously, and even view a sign as the literal manifestation of the entity it represents. To put it another way, "taking down a sign" is a slang way of describing a business that has gone bankrupt.
And although cutting down on excessive advertising is sure to be a positive, we imagine this new policy may make things difficult for people who depend on landmarks as a way to get around Beijing.
Images: 17u.com, Huitu.com, NetEase (bj.news.163.com)
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