Beijing seeks to raise its profile in the world(2)
"A city should be highlighted by its comprehensive power and cultures, rather than the height of its buildings," he said.
Shanghai is sinking at an average of a centimeter a year, according to research by Tongji University, and the city's profusion of high-rises have been blamed. Fang said city governments should limit the height of buildings.
Even some less populated Chinese cities and villages plan to build skyscrapers.
Fangchenggang City in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has fewer than 1 million residents, yet it plans to build a 528m Asian International Financial Center, taller than the Shanghai World Financial Center.
Huaxi Village, in east China Jiangsu Province, once China's richest village, is to start building a 328m-high hotel next month which will be the eighth highest building in China and the 15th in the world when completed.
The 828m Burj Khalifa in Dubai
