The city has been divided into four categories of areas, according to different functions, corresponding to standards in order to regulate noise pollution, the Shenzhen Municipal Ecology Environment Bureau said recently.
Industrial projects that produce noise pollution are prohibited in Category One areas that needs quietness, including residential estates, hospitals, schools, research and design institutions and administrative areas.
A total of 16 areas in the city including the mangrove reserve in Futian District and Shenzhen University are classified as Category One.
Category Two areas refer to those with financial and commercial functions such as Meilin, Liantang and Gongming center.
There are 68 zones across the city included in the second category.
Quietness is required in the residential estates in Category Two areas.
Sixty one zones in the city including Huanggang Checkpoint and Qianhai are Category Three areas featuring industrial production, storage and logistics.
Impacts of industrial noises on the surrounding environment should be avoided in the Category Three areas.
Areas within a certain distance from traffic facilities such as highways, bus stations and city rails are considered as Category Four, with 4a and 4b as subtypes.
According to national standards on noise, the noise limit of Category One areas should be 55 decibels in the daytime and 45 decibels from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day.
The limits of environmental noise in Category Two and Three areas are 60 decibels and 65 decibels (daytime) and 50 decibels and 55 decibels (at night), respectively.
The daytime limit of both Category 4a and 4b areas is 70 decibels while the limits of night environmental noise of 4a and 4b categories are 55 decibels and 60 decibels, respectively.