A total of 188 buildings in Beijing built within the past 160 years are to be given government protection under a new ruling issued this week, an official has said.

They include several well-known landmarks erected since the formation of the People's Republic in 1949, he said.

The ruling, which was released on Wednesday, marks a change of tack for the city government and its cultural relics department, which had previously "paid attention to the old and ignored the young", according to a report in the Beijing News.

Wen Zongyong, deputy chief of Beijing's planning commission, said: "Beijing is home to many spectacular modern buildings, but their protection had not been on the government's agenda until very recently."

Buildings to be protected include the 50-year-old Great Hall of the People, where the annual session of the National People's Congress is held; schools built by missionaries in the 19th century; and the city's first water works, which dates from 1908. The buildings are split into two groups: From 1840-1949 and 1950-76.

"The buildings reflect either the historical development of society or the evolution of the art of construction," Wen was quoted as saying.

Under the new ruling, the listed structures cannot be demolished, and any renovation work done on them must ensure their historical authenticity is preserved.

Wang Yuwei, a director with Beijing municipal administration of cultural heritage, said the listed buildings will be considered as cultural relics for further protection.

The architecture of Chinese cities used to be dominated by harsh lines, big windows, imposing doorways and simple geometric patterns on walls and entrances, Wang said.

But many of the buildings that reflected these things have been demolished or neglected over the past 20 years, as the country raced to develop and modernize, he said.

The Beijing government has also tried in recent years to protect the city's remaining hutongs - alley residences - against rapid urbanization.

The new rules are expected to determine whether some of the city's more modern buildings should be pulled down, Wang said.

Jia Haiyue, an expert with the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning & Design, was quoted by the Beijing News as saying that in 2004, one of the capital's most popular tourist sites, the 798 art district, which was visited by French President Nicolas Sarkozy this month, was actually earmarked for demolition.

Cai Yiping, a media professional from Beijing, welcomed the rules, saying the value of buildings cannot be solely judged by their age.

"Of course, modern buildings are not as historical as the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace," Cai said. "But today's modern buildings are tomorrow's historical relics. We must not deprive future generations by pulling down the buildings of our time."

However, Li Ying, a local resident, said it was pointless to protect modern buildings when ancient relics are far more vulnerable.

"If we can't pull down some of these buildings, which occupy at best a pitiful position in the long history of Chinese architecture, there will soon be no land left for the city's development."