Today is Singles’ Day, but I don’t really feel anything special about it, so I’m not paying much attention.

However, while sorting through a batch of enforcement cases today, I stumbled upon a peculiar number unrelated to Singles’ Day: 11.1 square meters.

What exactly is 11.1 square meters?

7.4 meters x 1.5 meters

I came across an application from the city management requesting the enforcement of a penalty against a street clothing store, with the enforcement amount exceeding twenty thousand yuan.

I was quite puzzled. How could setting up a street billboard result in a fine of 20,000 yuan?

Upon closer inspection of the materials, I learned that the store’s location isn’t very prime—it’s in a relatively remote suburban area. The owner is probably a novice, just starting out and completely unaware of the legalities.

During the store’s renovation, the owner extended the billboard to the top of a small alley between two buildings.

The area of this billboard is 7.4 meters x 1.5 meters = 11.1 square meters.

According to the “Guangdong Province Urban Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Management Regulations,” the city management fined him several thousand yuan. Since he didn’t pay the fine for over half a year, the late fees multiplied several times, bringing the total to over twenty thousand yuan.

I scoured the internet but couldn’t find the standard for what constitutes a “large outdoor advertisement” in Foshan… Could it be two square meters?

• Mianyang, Sichuan: Large outdoor advertisements refer to those with an area exceeding 2 square meters.
• Duanzhou, Zhaoqing: The standard for large outdoor advertisements is 30 square meters (including 30 square meters) or more.
• Luzhou, Sichuan: Outdoor advertisements with any side length greater than (or equal to) 4 meters or a single-sided area greater than (or equal to) 10 square meters.
• Harbin: More than 2 square meters (excluding 2 square meters).
• Jiangmen, Guangdong: Medium and large outdoor billboards refer to those with an area of 50 square meters (including 50 square meters) or more.

I also found a previous case from the Chancheng City Management:

To celebrate the opening of a new store, an 8-square-meter billboard was privately set up. The hair salon in Shen Village, Chancheng, had just hung up the billboard when it was discovered by the Chancheng District Urban Comprehensive Management personnel. Not only was the billboard removed, but they were also fined 2000 yuan. [Celebrating New Store Opening, Privately Setting Up Billboard]