The government building of Kaixian County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. [tianya.cn]

Luxurious government buildings, seen as bad examples of efficiency, are back in the spotlight again.

Related readings:  Officials ousted for luxurious buildings  Extravagant government buildings given firm warning  China calls halt to lavish gov't buildings

A forum discussion at tianya.cn, a Chinese BBS portal, called for photos of lavish government office buildings throughout China, and it attracted a keen response from netizens nationwide. There were more than 1,500 contributions that led to over 70,000 page views in the past week, according to Guangzhou-based New Express.

The thread, jointly launched by the News Investigation, a news program of China Central Television (CCTV), and Tianya Club, asked "every netizen" to post what they know about lavishly decorated government buildings.

According to Chai Jing, an anchorwoman of News Investigation, the photos are likely to be used for CCTV's investigative report on extravagant buildings.

"You never know how much money was spent on the building -- in fact, no one thinks it's necessary to tell you, even though it cost up to a billion yuan and you paid for it out of your salary. So please get your camera and shoot photos on the buildings around you, " wrote Chai in her June 22 blog named "You are a citizen, and a reporter".

The next day, another thread was launched on the same topic in Tianya Talk - a section for critical stories at tianya.cn, which also created a buzz among netizens. Within a week, comments and photos on lavish buildings across China, including Beijing and Shanghai, made their way to the club.

Quite a few netizens expressed their excitement and expectation at the upcoming expose of these luxurious buildings, while some talked about their indignation at the extravagance of there buildings.

"These buildings are usually located far away from the downtown area and the general population. It's a sad fact, " wrote an unidentified netizen.

There were also those suspicious of the upcoming investigative report by CCTV.

"These buildings have been there for a long time in spite of state regulations, and photos have been circulating all the time. How come CCTV didn't report on it until today?" asked another unnamed netizen.

Some even said the new CCTV building under construction in Beijing is by itself "overspent", as there are rumors that it cost over 10 billion yuan.

However, not all exposed extravagant buildings drew criticism, among them the Wancheng government building in Shunde and Guangzhou municipal government building - both in south China's Guangdong Province.

"The government building in Shunde should not be counted as 'extravagant'. At least it is not beyond the city's economic sustainability," argued a netizen, while the one in Guangzhou was praised for "staying in use for decades" by another.

The Chinese government has toughened its position to rein in wasting public money this year.

In April, the State Council and the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a notice banning luxurious facilities inside government office buildings, including lavish water fountains and hotel-style facilities.

Two months later, a slew of officials were either removed or demoted for using public funds to construct extravagant buildings.

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