Workers pack up to leave the building of Dongcheng people's congress on Thursday. [Zou Hong / China Daily]

A removal truck was waiting in front of the entrance gate of the office building of Chongwen district authority on Thursday afternoon. Officials were in a flurry, packing stuff in offices and selling useless books and documents to waste-collectors. Many bundles of paper and other materials lay scattered in the corridors.

Signs for the CPC (Communist Party of China) Chongwen district committee, Chongwen government, Chongwen people's congress as well as the people's political consultative conference, still hung at the entrance gate. But before long, these signs will disappear forever, as it was announced a week ago that Chongwen district will merge with Dongcheng district.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Dongcheng people' congress and people's political consultative conference will swap offices with the current Chongwen CPC committee and government. They will be able to resume work next Monday.

The merger of the districts is a new measure by the Beijing municipal government aimed at balancing development among the different areas and increasing administrative efficiency.

Xuanwu district will also be unified with Xicheng district.

The municipal government promised that the district authorities would continue to provide a normal service to residents while the mergers are being implemented.

The locations of the authorities of the expanded Dongcheng and Xicheng districts have already been determined.

The new Dongcheng district CPC committee and government will move to the office building of the current Dongcheng authority in Yuqun Hutong, while the district people's congress and people's political consultative conference will move to the current Chongwen authority on Xingfu Street.

The CPC committee and government of the new Xicheng district will be situated at the current Xicheng authority on Erlong Road. Its people's congress and people's political consultative conference will be at the current Xuanwu authority located on Guang'anmen South Street.

A spokesman for Xuanwu CPC committee told METRO they and the district government were preparing for the relocations, but that it might take as long as three months due to the size of the authorities and the enormous amount of personnel.

The Exit-Entry Administration of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau told METRO its reception halls in the four districts would not change locations. Reception halls in current Chongwen and Xuanwu districts will continue to operate as before.

The reception halls, however, will be renamed according to the streets where they are located. The two reception halls in the new Dongcheng district are located on Jinbao Street and Xingfu Road, and the two in new Xicheng district are on Xinbi Street and Liangjiayuan.