The Beijing city management authority is limiting the number and placement of signs on buildings in order to "create an urban skyline that is visually clear and bright", and strengthen urban management.

The campaign was launched as part of the capital's urban planning for 2016 to 2035.

According to a notice from the Beijing Commission of City Management, all signs and billboards attached to roofs must be removed. In addition, there can be only one sign with a building's name on the third or higher stories, and the name should be the same as the one registered with planning authorities.

Each of the capital's 16 districts will launch an enforcement campaign, the notification said, and any failure by institutions and individuals to remove "noncompliant" signs will be noted on their credit record.

According to Beijing Daily, nearly 9,000 signs and billboards had been removed by Thursday. There are more than 27,000 signs and billboards that are non-compliant across the capital, the newspaper quoted an unnamed official from Beijing Commission of City Management as saying.

The official also said that the Shijingshan district removed 1,700 signs and billboards and was the first one to remove all non-compliant signage. Chaoyang district topped all districts, having removed almost 2,500 signs.

Signage must be removed by the end of December and the municipal commission will inspect the capital "road by road" in January.

The campaign has provoked heated discussion online. While some Beijing residents applauded the campaign, some worried that it will be difficult for them to find their destinations.

"Sometimes, when I am looking for friends I have made an appointment with, I can easily let them know my exact location by telling them what sign is over my head," said Zhang Zhenyu, a resident of Chaoyang district.

A netizen named Cycy Lee didn't like the feeling of walking near buildings with signs over the roofs.

"Some of the signs or billboards have been there for years and they may fall down," the netizen commented on Weibo.