The city of Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province will hand out harsh punishments to restaurants which violate operational rules.

Their violations include street barbecues, overtime operations and unlicensed stalls, which are the most frequent complaints received on the city's service hotline – 12319.

The city's management committee will urge the restaurant to rectify its fault within a set time for its first offence, and suspend its business after two warnings.

The business permit for restaurants that break the rule three times will be withdrawn.

The move, jointly initiated by some government departments, including the city’s management authority and enforcement organs, will target busy commercial streets and the restaurants in Nangang and Daoli districts, which have been responsible for producing a lot of neighborhood complaints, such as smoke and noise.