Starting from yesterday, any bars in the Shichahai area of Beijing which are sued by the neighbors for being too loud will be closed until they fix the problem, the Legal Mirror reported.

Police will also be asked to confiscate speakers placed outside bars and pubs to promote their businesses in the popular lakeside night spot, also known as Hou Hai, in Beijing's inner north.

Shichahai is as well-known for drinkers and party-revellers as eastern Beijing's Sanlitun bar street in the embassy district.

Nightly from 20:00 PM to 1:00 AM is the busiest time for businesses in the Shichahai area, with loud music from CD players and live bands and rowdy patrons frequently drawing the ire of residents in surrounding hutongs, or traditional alleys, the report said.

A source from the Xicheng district police department said the number of noise complaints lodged by residents over the past month had jumped 50 percent compared to the same time last year.

The ease the situation, police have signed a responsibility document with 107 bars along the lakeside area, which regulates the bars to take effective measures to control noise in their properties. No speakers or other sound equipment will be allowed outside the establishments.

To ensure the responsibility document will be honored, police have increased their numbers of patrolling offices and extended their patrols until 2:00 AM.

(CRI July 15, 2007)