A plan to invest 12 billion yuan (US$1.77 billion) to decorate the ancient city walls of Xi'an, in northwest China, has aroused disputes among the public since it was announced in April, Beijing News reported.

Why did this news make headlines? The reason lies in that the vice mayor of Xi'an, who is in charge of the planning, used to be a real estate developer.

Urban planning and real estate planning are totally different. Urban planning aims to promote sustainable development of the city and to improve people's livelihood. The only goal of real estate developers is making as much money as possible.

There is nothing wrong with selecting real estate businessmen as the city planning official. Citizens mainly worry that the official would carry out city planning as a real estate developer, rather than an urban developer, which may lead to increased land and housing costs.

The close relationship between government officials and real estate developers is one of reasons housing prices in some places have remained high. People hope that the officials keep their distance from businessmen.

The decoration plan has essentially used the ancient walls as a tool for commercial gain. Since the plan was implemented, the local land price per mu (1 mu is about 666.67 square meters) has risen from 500,000 yuan in 2003 to 6 million yuan in 2009.

Many local officials use commercial ideas to promote a city's value. They put increasing government revenue before improving people's livelihood, and they increase land prices. It is getting harder and harder for ordinary people to buy houses.

The original appearance of some cities' historical sites was harmed because of city planning, because cities were focused on profit, as is the case with Xi'an's ancient walls.

(This article was translated by Ma Yujia.)