Normally, it consists of two tiers: the master plan (zong ti gui hua)
and the detailed plan (xiang xi gui hua). The top tier is the master
plan that outlines the general land use pattern of a city. Another tier,
below the master plan, is the detailed plan, which deals with areas that
face immediate development or are specified in the master plan. The
detailed plan is composed of the detailed development control plan (kong
zhi xing xiang xi gui hua) and the urban design and parcel-based
detailed construction plan (xiu jian xing xiang xi gui hua). A master
plan usually has a planning horizon of 20 years and should consider
long-range development strategies. The main content of master plans
includes the city’s development direction, the function of each
district, land use layout, comprehensive transportation planning,
construction forbidden areas, construction-constrained areas, and
construction suitable areas, green land planning, tourism planning,
etc. With respect to the
compilation of urban comprehensive plans, the Rules for Modification of
Urban Comprehensive Plan issued by the Administrative Office of the
State Council set out stricter procedures for the modification and
adjustment of approved plans, stress on the assessment of implementation
of urban comprehensive plans.
More specifically in Xi’an, the city has it’s own planning bureau and
office to work on the general master plan for the city. The authority at
lower level which actually has more knowledge on the district or even
community level often has little influence on the master plan.