A 25-Story building that was built in 1990 is being demolished because it is considered "disharmonious" with surrounding constructions on the Bund in Shanghai.

It will take six months to demolish Wenhui Mansion. The building is 91 meters and was the office of Wenhui Daily, a major Chinese language newspaper established in 1938.

Due to the many residential and historic buildings in the area - some as close as 10 meters -- the government decided to use machines instead of explosives to eliminate the building.

"The building is not in harmony with its surroundings," said Wang Anshi, an official of old home renovations at the Shanghai Housing and Land Administrative Bureau.

Engineers said at least three machines will be used to demolish the building bit by bit starting from the top.

Wenhui Mansion is now surrounded by more than 300 tons of scaffolding and nets to reduce dust, as well as prevent construction material from dropping on the streets below.

The area is called Waitanyuan or the "dragon head" of the Bund at the conjunction of Suzhou Creek and the Huangpu River.

The area is one of 15 major historic areas selected by the city government for conservation and commercial development by 2010.

The first phase of Waitanyuan occupies 16,800 square meters of land and houses seven historic buildings.

 (Shanghai Daily April 24, 2006)