If you are planning to party tonight, call ahead to see if there might be any change of plans at your venue of choice as at least three popular Beijing nightlife venues were raided by police last night, and two will remain closed for the weekend.
Gulou-area bars Temple Bar and Dada were visited by police last night and IDs were checked as part of what one bar manager speculates may have been a larger city-wide raid aimed at catching drug users. The bars were also requested to close for the weekend.
Meanwhile, a more elaborate raid was conducted on Destination nightclub late last night, according to a social media post that went viral this morning.
According to the post, over 50 uniformed people arrived at Destination at about 1am last night and subjected clubgoers to urine tests. The post features photos of officers parked out in front of the club, a longtime LGBT friendly venue, along with pictures of those policemen making their way inside.
However, the post's author said the raid was very likely a crackdown on drug use and the club was not targeted because it serves a primarily LGBT clientele.
Three people were detained, according to a statement later released by the club, but it remains open for business today and will host a DJ from Taiwan tonight.
"Last night's results show that gays and straight groups are the same: most are law-abiding," Destination's statement read. "We promote the concept of safe and healthy entertainment. Gambling is strictly prohibited, as are drugs ... as they have been since our establishment was founded more than 12 years ago."
Sources from the Gulou-area bars said IDs were checked but did not indicate that urine tests were conducted nor people detained.
A WeChat post from Dada confirmed the closure and another indicated that this evening's scheduled show, the Syndicate party with Elijah & Skilliam, would be moved to Modern Sky Lab(5-108 Galaxy Soho).
This is by no means the first drug raid on a popular Beijing nightlife venue; in fact drug raids are quite common in Beijing. Most recently, Baochao Hutong was targeted in June of this year, and in one of the biggest raids in recent memory, 30 people were arrested in a raid on the now defunct 2 Kolegas in 2014.
Nor are raids limited to bars: The Midi Music School was raided in November of last year and even a private home in the Shunyi Villa district was raided in the spring of 2015.
As is our standard advice, stay 100% clear of illegal drugs in Beijing, particularly if you are a foreigner, as laws here are very likely far stricter than your home country.
Foreigners are also often under the assumption that the worst that could happen would be a slap on the wrist, but more than a few foreigners have served time in jail and been deported for usage of drugs that may be categorized as merely recreational in their home countries.
