The Great Hall of the People, one of the best known buildings in China's capital will be renovated to make it more energy-efficient, the Beijing Daily said Saturday.

 

Kong Xiangyi, the deputy director of the Administration of the Great Hall of the People, said experts are currently examining the mammoth building in preparation for the renovation work.

 

The renovation work may take three or five years and could reduce its energy consumption by 20 percent, he said.

 

The renovation of the Great Hall of the People is part of an ambitious program that will see the reconstruction of existing private and public buildings to make them more energy efficient.

 

By 2010, the government plans to reconstruct 25 percent of the buildings in big cities, 15 percent in medium-sized cities and 10 percent in small cities for energy saving.

 

As the first step, the reconstruction of buildings involving major departments of the central government has already begun.

 

With half of the world's new buildings built in China every year, the government is attaching greater importance to energy efficiency of buildings.

 

Located in the Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing, the Great Hall of the People is the place where Chinese leaders meet foreign leaders and the National People's Congress holds its annual sessions.

 

The construction of the Hall began in October 1958 and was completed in August 1959. It was hailed as a miracle at that time. Several rounds of refurbishment have been done to it since then.

 

The Hall has a total floor area of over 170,000 square meters. The biggest chamber in the Hall has around 10,000 seats.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2006)