Normally, it consists of two tiers: the master plan (zong ti gui hua) and the detailed plan (xiang xi gui hua). The top tier is the master plan that outlines the general land use pattern of a city. Another tier, below the master plan, is the detailed plan, which deals with areas that face immediate development or are specified in the master plan. The detailed plan is composed of the detailed development control plan (kong zhi xing xiang xi gui hua) and the urban design and parcel-based detailed construction plan (xiu jian xing xiang xi gui hua). A master plan usually has a planning horizon of 20 years and should consider long-range development strategies. The main content of master plans includes the city’s development direction, the function of each district, land use layout, comprehensive transportation planning, construction forbidden areas, construction-constrained areas, and construction suitable areas, green land planning, tourism planning, etc. With respect to the compilation of urban comprehensive plans, the Rules for Modification of Urban Comprehensive Plan issued by the Administrative Office of the State Council set out stricter procedures for the modification and adjustment of approved plans, stress on the assessment of implementation of urban comprehensive plans.
More specifically in Xi’an, the city has it’s own planning bureau and office to work on the general master plan for the city. The authority at lower level which actually has more knowledge on the district or even community level often has little influence on the master plan.