These murals have since disappeared from the Shanghai site. Image from Tencent News via China News Service

A group of touching street art works at a Shanghai demolition site has been removed by the authorities despite its popularity.

Local artist Shi Zheng and French artist Julien Malland, aka Seth Globepainter, had turned the last standing walls in a partially demolished residential compound into their canvases, creating colorful images that incorporated Chinese poems.

Chinese media reported on the murals and the images quickly went viral online attracting visitors from out of town.

As of January 23, the works have gradually been painted over or torn down by the authorities, who stated safety concerns for art lovers traipsing around the demolition site.

“Everyone felt it was comforting to see the images,” Shanghai Political Consultative Congress committee member Dai Jianguo told China National Radio. The official hopes that his city can one day adopt a more relaxed attitude towards street art.

Shi Zheng seemed unsurprised when he learned that his work had been destroyed. He told Southern Metropolis Daily that “it’s quite normal for street art to be removed, but it would have been good to keep it around for a bit longer.”

Image from Tencent News via China News Service

Image from Tencent News via China News Service

Image from Tencent News via China News Service