A central Chinese city was barred from applying for a "clean city" title for two years after authorities found it had cheated inspectors.

Five restaurants in Jiaozuo, Henan Province, replaced signboards disguising their businesses as training centers, companies and bookstores on March 10 in advance of an inspection by the country's sanitary city building inspection team which took place between March 11 and 13.

All five restaurants shut down during the inspection and reopened with their original signboards after inspectors left, according to Jiaozuo city authorities.

A netizen named "mayi0109" posted different pictures of the five restaurants taken during and after the inspection on an Internet forum on March 13. It raised heated debate among netizens and gained the attention of Jiaozuo city government.

The office of the National Patriotic Health Campaign Commission confirmed Wednesday, the restaurants had cheated. Because of this, Jiaozuo City will not be able to apply for the national sanitary city title for the next two years.

The title is a chance for cities to improve their overall sanitary image in China.

Jiaozuo began to apply for it in 2003 but was refused as the city was listed as one of the country's "ten seriously polluted cities" by the country's top environmental protection body in 2005.

In March 2008, the city applied for the second time.

"The building of a sanitary city is not only for the title, its fundamental purpose is to improve people's well-being," said Lu Guoxian, secretary of the city committee of the Communist Party of China.

Source: Xinhua