Hundreds of schools and hospitals citywide are undergoing emergency upgrades to make sure they can withstand an earthquake.

The buildings are being revamped in line with a new set of guidelines on local infrastructure safety that come into effect on April 1.

Beijing municipality has listed the work as one of this year's top priorities.

The guidelines call for existing public buildings - including hospitals, schools and shopping malls - to be able to handle major earthquakes for the next 30 to 50 years.

After the improvements, structures should be resistant to earthquakes with a seismic impact of up to eight degrees, which is equivalent to about a 6.0 magnitude, the guidelines say.

The Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, which drew up the standards, did not reveal how many buildings in Beijing are in need of an immediate revamp under the new rules.

Because the guidelines serve as standards, they are not legally binding. But the Housing and Urban-rural Development Commission, which monitors building construction citywide, has concluded that at least 3,000 schools and kindergartens are in need of revamps and some may even need to be rebuilt.

The commission hopes to complete 60 percent of the work before the end of 2010. It is not known how much government funding will be used.

The work is likely to cost several billion yuan and take place during the next three years, authorities have revealed.

After the improvements, all schools in Beijing should be able to endure earthquakes of up to 7.5 on the Richter scale.

Hospitals with a large number of patients will also need significant improvements, the commission said after a survey last year of public buildings citywide.

The capital, which has almost 20 million residents, is considered a possible earthquake danger zone because it sits between two major earthquake zones. The last earthquake to rock Beijing was a 3.9-magnitude tremor associated with the massive Sichuan earthquake on May 12, 2008.

Miao Qisong, director of the Beijing Building Construction Research Institute, said the authorities will not revamp all buildings citywide but will focus attention on dated and crowded buildings in the downtown.

"The guidelines are aimed at ensuring buildings in Beijing are able to sustain smaller earthquakes and survive bigger earthquakes," Miao told local media at the weekend.

He added that buildings in the less populated suburban areas will also be upgraded but only need to stand up to quakes with seismic impacts of seven degrees.

The seismic impact of the massive Sichuan earthquake in 2008 was 11 degrees and was ranked among the most devastating earthquakes in Chinese history. The central government said at least 5,335 students were killed or reported missing after 11,687 schools collapsed during the 8.0-scale quake.

Liu Hang, a building safety expert also with the institute, told METRO most buildings completed after 2000 were designed to survive major earthquakes. Liu said most danger comes from buildings dating back to the 1970s.

"The walls of buildings that are three or four decades old are really vulnerable to quakes and the problem is many school children and elderly people still live under the roofs of such buildings," said Liu.

He expects the authorities to take seriously the implementation of the new guidelines.

"Everyone knows they must do everything possible to make sure buildings stand up if a quake hits town," he said.