Police Raids Hit Destination, Temple Bar, Dada

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 social media 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.  

Police cars outside Destination (left) while patrons lined up for urine tests 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.

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