A new rule bars new entertainment venues from opening near residential buildings and schools to avoid possible public disturbances, according to a notice by the Ministry of Culture.

The notice, issued on Friday as a supplement to the Regulation on the Administration of Entertainment Venues, which took effect on March 1, also makes it clear that such businesses are not allowed to operate in museums, libraries, cultural sites, two or more levels underground or in public places such as railway stations and airports.

Areas near schools, hospitals and government offices are also off limits to new entertainment venues, which the notice defines as KTVs, ballrooms, nightclubs and arcade game halls. Bars and Internet cafes are not included.

Zhang Xinjian, deputy director of the Culture Ministry's culture market department, said earlier this year that the ministry had received many noise complaints involving entertainment venues and would issue regulations to reduce such disturbances.

The notice posted on Friday leaves it up to local governments to set a specific minimum distance between entertainment venues and schools, hospitals and government offices.

However, the notice does say that distances between entertainment venues and storage depots for hazardous materials are subject to the Regulation on the Safety Control of Dangerous Chemicals, which says such storehouses must be away from crowded public places, though it also fails to set specific distances.

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