BEIJING, July 30 -- The magnificent compound of the municipal government of Nanyang, Henan Province, stands as an awkward monument of China's ongoing frugality campaign.

Its nine Greek-style buildings complete with a plaza may amaze many first-time passers-by, but those who take a closer look will notice its air of desertion. The "palaces" have stood empty for nearly two years.

According to residents, local officials razed two unfinished residential buildings to make way for the media center of the National Peasants' Games, a Chinese sporting event. After the seven-day event in 2012, officials said city departments would move into the building with the purpose of "properly re-using the site and avoiding waste."

However, the plan was foiled by a national campaign launched in late 2012 to target bureaucracy, formalism and government extravagance, which was followed by a ban on construction of new government buildings in mid-2013.

Though the injunction did not include completed buildings like Nanyang's, local officials concluded that moving into a deluxe new building in the heat of the crackdown was not a good idea.

"This whole (luxury complex) is not something we can boast about," a local publicity official told Xinhua.

Like Nanyang, many Chinese localities have seen newly built government offices abandoned as officials worry about public outcry and reprimands from higher authorities.

In February, the government of Yandong Township of Jiangsu Province retreated from its new complex 20 days after moving in. Officials had planned a low-key transfer but were exposed by members of the public.

Observers said these empty palaces were evidence of local governments' proclivity for lavish spending, as well as the power of the country's ongoing anti-extravagance campaign.

BITTER TASTE

Like other forms of government extravagance, glitzy new headquarters have left a bitter taste among the public. In some poverty-ridden areas, the buildings stand in stark contrast to poorly equipped schools and hospitals.

Last year, the city of Hailun in Heilongjiang Province came under fire for lobbying for poverty aid while investing 100 million yuan (16 mln U.S. dollars) for its new government building. Doubts were also raised after a number of Chinese cities and counties built grand office buildings to resemble the White House of the United States.

Shi Pu with the Henan University of Economics and Law said the deluxe office buildings are an "ostentation of bureaucracy and hedonism," using public money and seriously damaging the image of local governments.

But in many cases, a new government headquarters means more than a cozy nest. Shi said some projects allowed officials to trade favorable contracts with property developers for personal gains.

"Also, in China, wherever the government moves, investments follow. That's why many governments favor new headquarters in 'new economic zones' -- it's a crooked way of boosting the economy," he said.

DOUBLE WASTE

Such extravagance has ground to a halt under the sweeping campaign started by Xi Jinping in 2012 to promote a cleaner and more effective government.

The campaign has brought down a number of high-ranking corrupt officials and frozen officials' luxury activities, such as attending banquets and clubs.

But to some analysts, the idle government buildings are a reminder that some officials are just waiting out the crackdown instead of facing up to and fixing their past mistakes.

Shao Xiaoying, a sociologist with Fudan University, said some governments may be causing more waste by letting their new buildings sit idle.

Shao pointed to the new department building in Liuzhou City in Guangxi as an example. The building was never put into use because it violated the national limits on government office sizes. The government tried to bypass the rule by spending an additional hundreds of thousands of yuan to divide the offices into smaller ones with meeting rooms and lounges.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to the existing luxury buildings. We must dig out the 'stories' behind them, hold people responsible and find ways to deal with these buildings," Shao said.