In Beijing’s Haidian district, urban management officials have halted the process of removing signs and billboards from buildings, awaiting a decision on when to recommence the activity.

As per a recent announcement made on Saturday and widely disseminated on Monday, the Haidian district has mandated a halt to the removal of signs within the area due to safety concerns for workers amidst windy conditions, and due to the difficulty residents experienced navigating without these signs as reference points.

The announcement further highlighted that ongoing removal work should be completed to ensure safety.

The directive also emphasized that in the future, sign removal and installation should take place concurrently.

In December, The Beijing Commission of City Management initiated a campaign throughout the city to control the quantity and positioning of signs on buildings with the aim to “establish an urban skyline that is visually appealing and bright”.

This campaign was introduced as a component of the city’s urban blueprint for 2016 to 2035.

As per a directive from the commission, all rooftop signs and billboards must be eliminated. Furthermore, only one sign displaying a building’s name is allowed on the third floor or above, and the name must match the one registered with the planning authorities.

Each of the 16 districts in Beijing will implement an enforcement campaign, the notice informed. Non-compliance by institutions and individuals in removing non-conforming signs will be recorded in their credit history.

Signs are required to be removed by the end of December and the commission will conduct a thorough inspection of the city “street by street” in January, according to the notice.

The campaign has sparked a lively online debate. Some residents of Beijing are in favor of the campaign, while others are concerned that it will make navigation difficult for them.

“Without signs, I encountered significant difficulty in finding my way around unfamiliar places,” expressed Shi Shunji, a resident of Haidian district.

An anonymous official from the commission, addressing these concerns in an interview with Qianlong, a website managed by the city government, assured that they would collaborate with property owners to reinstall new signs “as soon as feasible”.

The official also clarified that the campaign doesn’t aim to “suppress individuality”, but rather to encourage property owners to design their signs within a “defined framework”.