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A friend of Shanghaiist collects hammers. She has dozens. Every time that a workman in her building begins knocking in nails at 3am, she strides down to the offending apartment and confiscates his tools. This happens a lot.
But judging from the draft of an environmental protection law announced in Shanghai yesterday and described in today’s Shanghai Daily, her utensil-impounding days may eventually be a thing of the past:
"We have noticed that indoor noise in residential areas severely affects people," Ding Wei, a member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai People's Congress, the city's top legislative body, said during a regular meeting of the committee.
The upshot is that “construction noise, as well as loud parties or decoration work at night will become illegal.”
It gets better. Shanghaiist lives in the vicinity of The Centre on Changle Lu, so we know a thing or two about light pollution. That gleaming behemoth of a building glows like lightsaber at night, illuminating everything for blocks. Now something is being done to curb excessive outdoor lights as well (though the emphasis will be on advertising billboards).
While all of this is welcome news, Shanghaiist still prays for the day when the honking of horns is stamped out for good. If that happens, we’ll be throwing a party so loud, it’s illegal.
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That's a nifty dB meter, where is it located? Could I stride up next to it, bang a gong, and achieve a 99?
There's a few of them around, but that one is down near Xujiahui Cathedral, on Cao Bei Xi Lu from memory. I like your idea of the gong. Why not make a competition out of it? This site has a useful table for assessing the different decibel measurements.
I have a nagging suspicion that this new 'anti-noise' initiative will allow the authorities to shut down more expat bars and house parties, while still allowing the guys down my street to bang a hammer at random at 5 AM on a Sunday...