Details of Jinwen Club Department

In the northwest of Zhongnanhai, next to Beihai Park, there is a deep alley that is very unnoticed. At the end of the hutong is the Gao Qian Club, known as the Jinwen Club, which is both familiar and unfamiliar to Beijingers.

This is a three-story building with a high roof in the style of 1950s and 1960s. Because it is next to the Politburo office, it was originally a place for members of the Politburo and relevant officials to rest and entertain, and it is heavily guarded. Later, the policy was changed and expanded into a cultural club dedicated to receiving cadres above the deputy department. There are swimming pools (equipped with 25×50 international standard swimming pools), tennis courts, gymnasiums, billiard halls, bowling alleys, reading rooms, table tennis rooms and small movie halls, as well as bars and restaurants.

Before the eighties and nineties of last century, the facilities of the Jinwen Club of the Central Office were first-class, with excellent service, especially its special status and identity, which won the favor of veteran cadres. In the middle and late 1990s, five-star hotels and various resorts mushroomed in Beijing, which were super luxurious. The entertainment facilities there are more advanced, more complete in functions and more thoughtful in service. By contrast, Jinwen Club is out of date. Although it is as close to the star level as possible after renovation, it is not for commercial activities, and the layout and furnishings are not up to the star level. For example, in the halls, corridors or rooms of star-rated hotels, modern abstract paintings and some artistic ornaments are usually hung for decoration. Here, there are some famous calligraphy and painting on the white wall.

According to the regulations of the State Council Municipal Bureau of Organs Affairs, the cadres who come here must be above the deputy ministerial level. Many veteran cadres, especially those in the army, have survived to the division level all their lives. However, because they participated in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, according to the relevant regulations, anyone who reached a certain level before retiring from the army can enjoy the treatment of deputy corps level or deputy ministerial level after retiring. Therefore, many veterans often come to Gao Qian.

In addition to leading your own team, your family can also accompany you, no more than 2 people at a time. So every weekend, the swimming pool is mostly young and middle-aged and children. But only in the ballroom, leaders can introduce one or two partners who are familiar with society to come here and apply for special partner certificates. Whenever there is a dance, women with dancing partner certificates can go in and out of Jinwen Street 13, but they can only go to the ballroom and not other entertainment places. Therefore, coming here to dance with the leaders has become the dream of many women.

With the increasing number of deputy ministerial cadres, the acceptance capacity of "Jinwen Street 13" is limited. In recent years, another Gao Qian Club has been built in Jingxi. These once brilliant and distinguished old people, their different personalities, their joys and sorrows, and their mortal feelings, all found a stage for display here.