Authorities in Shanghai said Wednesday that an order to demolish a studio owned by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has nothing to do with the artist's work or his activism. The studio was constructed illegally, the local government said.

Ai Weiwei.[File photo]

"Ai's studio did not go through the application procedures, therefore, it is an illegal building," Chen Jie, director of the urban construction department in Malu township, the home of the studio, told the Global Times Wednesday.

A demolition notice from Malu township was sent to the studio October 19. There are three studios, including Ai's, in the artists village in Jiading district, which the local government wants to transform into an art zone like 798 in Beijing. Only Ai's and Ding Yi's studios are slated to be demolished.

The external part of Ai's studio was completed in March and the inside is still being decorated. The 2,000-square -meter studio cost about 7 million ($1 million) when completed, Ai told the Global Times Wednesday.

Chen said authorities would compensate Ai.

Despite the government's explanation, Ai, who is also known for supporting people critical of the government, and his assistant, said the demolition order is indeed connected to his work.

Lü Hengzhong, the architect and Ai's assistant, told the Global Times that Ai made two documentary films. One was about a man who killed six police officers in Shanghai, and the other was about Shanghai lawyer, Feng Zhenghu, who was stranded at Tokyo's Narita airport for more than 100 days.

"We have reason to believe that such a move was a planned trap for me," Ai said.

Ai said the head of Jiading district, Sun Jiwei, invited him to build the studio two years ago in the district.

Ai signed a 30-year lease with the village committee in Dayu village in 2008, for 60,000 yuan ($8,988) a year.

Zhang Bibo, 24, an architecture student in Wuhan, Hubei Province, who visited the studio Wednesday, said he likes Ai's works.

"I was attracted by the studio because I believe it has broken all the traditional concept of architecture. I came as soon as I heard it would be demolished. This is a pity," Zhang said.

Chen, from the urban construction department, said no specific timeline was available for the demolition.

Lü said he would keep communicating with the government in an effort tosave the studio.

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