New | Beijing orders shutdown of 'secret' clubs, restaurants within public parks

The Beijing city government has issued an order to close down all private clubs and high-end entertainment venues set up at the city's spacious public parks, amid efforts to curb officials’ lavish lifestyles and crack the whip on corruption.

It is an open secret that many high-end restaurants and clubs, taking advantage of the scenic views and wide spaces, have been operating at these parks -- even in protected zones for cultural relics.

With luxurious interior decor and guaranteed privacy, these establishments have attracted a sizeable clientele of government officials -- although their tab is often covered by businessmen friends.

“In the past years, some dining enterprises in Beijing have been [looking to provide] high-end luxury and privacy, and they developed into private clubs," Zhao Yuqi, a senior official with Beijing’s discipline inspection commission said at a press conference on Wednesday, according to China News Agency.

"Some of those high-end restaurants are located in cultural-relics protection areas or public parks, which trigger strong dissatisfaction among the public.

“We need to take effective measures to curb this bad trend immediately,” Zhao said.

Local media reports say that costs per person at such park-view restaurants range from 988 yuan (HK$1,260) to 1,680 yuan. To protect their clients' identities, some restaurants would even help cover up their cars' licence plates.

Zhang Yahong, a director at the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry, said at Wednesday’s press conference that 24 restaurants and clubs were discovered in Beijing parks during an initial investigation.