THE administrative district divisions of Guangzhou were redrawn Thursday, with the creation of the Luogang District in the northeast, the merger of the former Dongshan District into Yuexiu District, and the former Fangcun District coming under the administration of Liwan District.

The people’s congresses of the three new districts selected their government chiefs respectively Wednesday: Liu Yuelun for Luogang District, Gong Erzhen for Yuexiu and Liu Ping for Liwan.

The Dongshan executive authority stopped functioning at midnight Thursday, one day after the Fangcun District Government ceased operations.

The redrawing of administrative districts is aimed at raising the city’s administrative efficiency, promoting the rebuilding of the old communities and developing the city at a high level and standard.

More than 2,000 civil servants in Guangzhou attended a job fair at the beginning of the month to compete for 250-odd positions available after the redrawing. This was the first job fair in the city to attract so many civil servants.

After merging into the Liwan District, housing prices in Fangcun are expected to rise.

“People were reluctant to live in Fangcun, which sounds like the outskirts of the city, although it borders Liwan,” said a woman surnamed Zhang living in the original Liwan.

Real estate rates in Fangcun are more than 1,000 yuan (US$123) per square meter cheaper than the old Liwan. Some real estate developers have advertised their houses at the end of last year as being part of the “New Liwan” to attract residents.