City forbids bright clothes for public servants

Workers sweep the newly completed Wuhan Yangtze River tunnel in preparation for its opening on Sunday in Wuhan, Hubei province December 27, 2008.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Public servants in the gritty central Chinese city of Zhengzhou should not sport "unnatural hair styles" or wear clothes that are too colorful, according to new city regulations.

From now on, Zhengzhou city officials should make sure their clothing matches and stay away from bright color schemes, the regulations specify.

Neatness and order are the order of the day.

"Don't just dress any which way," the regulations order.

Zhengzhou, the capital of land-locked Henan province, is better known for its agricultural futures exchange and railway station than for its sense of style.

But no specific breach triggered the latest set of rules, which are "designed to improve the image of our public servants," an official at Zhengzhou's central government office told Reuters on Monday.

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Lucy Hornby)