The Chinese government has issued a decree “strictly prohibiting” the plagiarism of buildings in the country and severely limiting the construction of supertall skyscrapers.

The new policy, released on the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development’s website, sets a wide range of measures designed to strengthen architectural standards in the country.

It bans “copycat behaviour”, states that skyscrapers over 500 metres “are not allowed”, buildings over 250 metres should be “strictly restricted”, and establishes the role of chief architects in its cities.

“To embody the spirit of the city, to show the style of the times, and to highlight Chinese characteristics, we hereby notify the relevant matters as follows,” stated the policy, which Dezeen has translated from the original Chinese.

The policy provides guidance on the design and construction of major buildings including “municipal stadiums, exhibition halls, museums, and grand theatres”.

For these large-scale projects “building plagiarism, imitation, and copycat behaviour are strictly prohibited,” said the policy.

In the past, numerous monuments and buildings constructed in China have been direct replicas of those in Europe. London’s Tower Bridge, Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, Sydney’s Opera House and the Eiffel Tower have all been recreated in the country.

Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp Chapel was also recreated in Zhengzhou, while more recently Zaha Hadid’s Wangjing Soho complex was copied by a developer in Chongqing.

This policy seems to spell an end for this trend in the country.

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