Controversial chimney stokes industrial heritage debate

Plans to lower a 180-meter-high smokestack in Beijing's downtown have sparked calls for a reprieve, as Yuan Quan and Wang Fei report for Xinhua China Features.

The controversy has raged for nine years, but now it seems the fate of a landmark Beijing building has been sealed.

A 180-meter-high chimney, dubbed "the most obtrusive building on the West Second Ring Road", will be transformed into a spacious observation deck - standing just 8 meters above ground level.