Originally Posted by
travlr222
Too bad. It was a fun place to hang out, play pool, listen to good music and watch people pick up the Mongolian girls.
I agree; lots of fun to be had their for "observers".
BTW, yesterday, when I drove past, the door was open and there were construction workers inside. Today, the notice was gone (couldn't tell if was open though because this was at 2p).
The "guanxi" with the PSB has been an overstated joke for years, mostly a Beijing "urban legend".
I'm inclined to disagree with this statement:
1) On the tbj forums there are tons of stories about staff at certain establishments beating patrons to a pulp (and, in rare instances, to death); the bosses never receive any significant trouble from the police
2) When every bar in Tongli Studio except for China Doll was slapped with fire code violations, you kind of had to wonder
3) The rampant drug use in some places suggests that the police are in tow
4) There's a reason that Block 8's roof didn't open until last summer was 2/3 gone (those guys were rookies)
5) The handful of bar owners that I know have told me a bit about what it takes to keep the authorities at bay; in addition to the police, they also need to take care of 黑社会