Beijing banned new golf courses in 2004 to protect scarce arable land and water resources but new projects continued to be built to meet growing demand from China’s wealthy.
Of a total 683 courses in the country, 111 have been ordered to close following a crackdown launched in 2011, said the National Development and Reform Commission.
It cited illegal use of arable land, extraction of groundwater in prohibited areas and construction on nature reserves among the infractions by developers.
