Beijing Has Beaten the Beats: A Collection of Quiet Bow-Outs From Our Favorite Dance Spots

When I set out today to write a roundup of this weekend's best places to dance, I knew the pickin's would be slim amid the promise of club raids and crackdowns – another of the municipal authorities' attempts to keep everyone on their best behavior during the Party Plenum. But as I scrolled through the Beijinger's events page looking for survivors, and through my WeChat official accounts, the silence was deafening.

Each account's announcement that they will remain closed for the rest of the month was icy and curt, offering no explanation, probably because it's understood: despite many a venue owner having taken a vacation for Golden Week but a few weeks ago, basically all of the most popular dance and music halls in our fair city have decided to close their doors until the end of the month, likely because they were asked to, and maybe because they were told to.
 

Dada

Dada, the Gulou hot spot for boundary-pushing electronic artists and DJs, provided no reason for their closing, but did provide an alternative activity for the weekend: go shopping for Halloween costumes. They will return on Thursday, Oct 26.
 

DDC

DDC keeps things short, much like their resident dog's temper, with a notice that they too will be closed until Oct 25. Done.
 

Fruityshop

Fruityshop, your one-stop-shop for secondhand records and chill vibes at Dongsi, has served up a little bit of poetry (see above), assuring us that the shop is still open, but that things at the venue will remain quiet (the same goes for their sister venue Fruityspace). They will be offering mulled wine and chilled-out tunes in the shop for those music lovers who may feel lost this weekend. They also admit that we all might as well stay home because there's really nothing to do.
 

Modernista

Gulou's primo French and absinthe bar Modernista has also succumbed to the closure, stating that all scheduled events between now and Oct 25 have been canceled. Have no fear, however, as it's all leading to massive Halloween weekend blowout parties.
 

Lantern

Lantern is already literally underground, so I guess this means they're going deeper underground, and now I have Jamiroquai stuck in my head for the second time this month. Lantern says they will be closed "for the weekend," but being Lantern, that really means the whole week. They will reopen on Thursday, Oct 26, with "longtime DJ, producer and label boss of Affin" Joachim Spieth. So keep your dancin' shoes shined and ready.
 

Soi Baochao
Soi Baochao, Baochao Hutong's grotty li'l bar of fun, says that they'll be open but don't expect any events, which we'll take as a win! Make sure to try one of their potent jello shots to mask the pain.
 

School Bar

School Bar usually brings the ruckus, with their crusty punk-rock vibes, hosting shows nearly every weekend. As a result, they attract a lot of attention when it's time to quiet the city down. Even their closing announcement keeps things hush-hush: "Well, we're taking a break. See you at the end of the month. We wish you well."
 

Temple Bar

Whoah, whoah, whoah there, horsey! "Certain circumstances out of our control"?! Bold move, saying all of that. It might be the most explanation we've gotten out of anyone on the record for closing their bar. Temple will reopen on Oct 26.
 

Voltage Station

Maybe it was Voltage Music's farewell that gave me all these spooky vibes: a black cat peering out from the shadows, underneath a short, clear, spindly-fonted message: "We're coming back." So ominous! Voltage Station will reopen their doors (at U-Town's Modo Ultra Club) on Oct 27.
 

Yue Space

Points for cuteness and clarity go to Yue Space. "We're on vacation, we'll be back on Oct 30. Our friends, we say farewell, but we'll see you at the Halloween party at the end of the month!" So at least they gave us hope for a better future. And a cute .gif of a plastic-haired woman waving, which my spirit needed after scrolling this far down into the alphabetical list of closures.
 

Yugong Yishan

For some reason, I thought our friends at Yugong Yishan might be safe, as a larger, more reputable venue hosting a broad range of musical performances, including folk shows that even Xi Dada himself might approve of. But no: They, too, are closed, and will return on Oct 26 with a performance from the incredibly magical-looking French harpist Cecile Corbel. "Kids, save the date! We wish you a happy autumn!"

Venues have remained tight-lipped about the closings, and what caused them all to make the same decision for the same time period at the same moment. We can all guess, though. But the motive still isn't clear: upscale, sit-down bars, hotel bars, official performance spaces, and quieter spots are still hosting jazz, folk, and classical performances through the weekend (NCPA, Yichang Café, Jianghu Bar, Good Bait, etc.). So it would seem that the Party is simply anti-party, hoping to prevent the masses from dancing until the meeting is over. Basically, a Footloose nightmare-come-true.

But don't let the man get you down, man! Perhaps this weekend you're better off dancing at home in your living room. But be strong, comrades. It'll all be over soon, and the city will come back to life next week.

Images: WeChat