Beijing, Oct 05: The number of skyscrapers in east China's gleaming Shanghai metropolis will be slashed to make way for more public spaces and prevent the city from sinking further, the municipal government said today. A specific plan on limiting the height of buildings and reducing the number of skyscrapers in Shanghai will be chalked out at an upcoming meeting on urban planning, Shanghai Municipal Government spokesperson Jiang Lan said.

Jiang said the local urban construction, henceforth, would mainly focus on providing more public spaces and greenbelts in the future instead of building high towers. Shanghai, China's largest city and industrial hub, is the country's most modernised metropolis. The sprawling city is home to over 3,000 high-rises with 18 floors or more, blamed for causing it to sink some 1.5 centimetres annually.

The Lujiazui financial district, one of the city's most bustling areas with densely located skyscrapers, sank three centimetres in 2002.

A survey by the Shanghai Geological Research Institute showed over-exploitation of the underground water as the main cause for a sinking city, besides high-rise buildings. In addition, highly concentrated skyscrapers not only hinder the flow of wind but make the densely populated city, with a population of 15 million, more crowded and oppressive.

Statistics show population density in Shanghai's city proper is three times and 1.74 times that of Tokyo and Paris.

Shanghai had its first high-rise, the 82-meter-high international hotel, in 1934. Some 650 high buildings were built in the 1980s. In the 1990s, over 2,000 skyscrapers emerged in the municipality. At present, there are more than 100 skyscrapers over 100 meters high in the city. Bureau Report