Two five-metre-tall lamp posts lay yesterday on the bicycle lane in a main street close to my home, near Beijing's Asian Games Village.

They were erected seven years ago, both shaped like a tree bearing dozens of blooming white flowers each bigger than a punch bowl.

Those, along with other street lights, were installed as part of the local campaign to "light up the night." According to local media reports at the time, all the new street lights "brightened up" the area and served as a "role model" for similar projects to "beautify" the cityscape.

However, despite the different types of electrical fixture, the street, part of a six-lane thoroughfare connecting the northern third and fourth ring roads, has remained dark when night falls.

Taxi drivers have told me that they do not like to drive in this area. Once they pass the ruins of the Yuan Dynasty City Wall, the street lights become so dim that there is always a risk of hitting some pedestrians.

There is practically no light on the bicycle lane, even as the roads deteriorated after repeated digging. For a few days, there was a big hole on one of the bicycle lanes and, at night, cyclists discovered it only when they almost fell into it.

Meanwhile, the "lighting up" project trumpeted in the local media did not help. For instance, the floral lights, when turned on, changed colour from green to red, purple, blue and yellow. Others only served to distract motorists and blur their vision.

Moreover, those lights were turned on only during public holidays, as they were solely for decoration.

After the whole country suffered serious power shortages in the summer of 2004, these decorative lights have remained off even during festivities, to save electricity.

Now these huge lamp posts have been pulled down, while others have fallen into disrepair. What all this means is that taxpayers' money has been wasted.

It is not uncommon in China for such showy projects to receive public funds. According to media reports, many local governments have incurred huge debts for projects that turn their locales into "modern" urban centres, including those for street lights, huge squares and lawns.

The media, the public and even the Ministry of Construction have made repeated calls to stop such ostentatious projects that do not substantially improve people's lives.

Officials must bear in mind that besides major projects, taxpayers' money should also be used to help alleviate poverty, train the unemployed and disabled, help ensure school-age children stay at school, and address other social problems.

Major projects that improve infrastructure of both urban centres and rural areas should focus on creating a clean, energy-saving environment and making it more convenient for residents and visitors.

Cities do need decoration, but adornments to make cityscape more beautiful should be carefully designed and thought out.

Now the construction of the No 5 subway line is nearly completed below the street close to my home and the thoroughfare is being extended to cross over the fourth ring road into the future Olympics Village.

So the decorative light posts are being pulled down to make way for new street lights. All who live and pass by this area are hoping that the new street lights will be bright at night to free all drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike from the fear of darkness and risks.

Email: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/15/2006 page4)