Beijing's Tian'anmen Square, the so-called world No. 1 square in size, seems to have fallen short of its reputation amid a luxurious construction wave across China.

At the ongoing annual parliamentary session, a lawmaker told reporters that some Chinese cities and counties have built very big squares to beat the Tian'anmen square hands down.

"Even some small townships have created squares 20,000 square meters bigger than the Tian'anmen square," said Zhou Xiaoguang, board chairman of the Neoglory Group in eastern Zhejiang Province, without mentioning which counties he referred to.

After a thorough investigation into the situation, the lawmaker said that a number of medium and small cities and townships have become craze in constructing mammoth government buildings with fairyland-like artificial lakes and squares.

Some government funded universities have occupied large areas and built "gigantic gates 100 meters in width," he said.

In China, there has been a long tradition of constructing oversized architects, such as mausoleums, palaces, dams and great walls, to show off the leaders' merits.

"It's high time to stop lavish construction in China, as some squares in local cities have become even larger than the Tian'anmen square in our capital," Zhou said.

The Tian'anmen Square, known as the "heart of China", with an area of 440,000 square meters, can hold one million people.

The square serves as a place for leaders to convene mass gatherings in special celebrations, like the marking of the anniversaries of the birth of the nation.

The square has also witnessed various demonstrations and gatherings over the past century.

Created in the 15th century, it was formerly a royal site of the Forbidden City. The government expanded it after the founding of the People's Republic of China 60 years ago.

(Xinhua News Agencies March 7, 2009)