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Latte, the latest brew for Beijing clubbers
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By Wang Zhiyong
China.org.cn staff reporter

Add: Inside Workers' Stadium north gate, Gongti 工体北门内东侧
Tel: 010-65518881
Open 8:30pm- 05:00 am

This is the twenty-first century and Beijing is pulling out all the stops to entertain its nighthawks. As economic growth spawns a fashionable set, night clubs have sprouted like mushrooms to cater to its whims. Nightlife in Beijing, capital of world's largest socialist country, is getting ever more colorful. Last Saturday, Latte, the newest player, proclaimed its arrival on the scene.

Inside the north gate of Beijing Workers' Stadium, Latte is just a couple of minutes walk from two of the city's oldest venues, Mix and Vics. Latte's bright white awnings and a flashy logo on the top of the three-floor building make it easy to spot. The dance club is on the top floor. After a strict security check, fun seekers are greeted in the stylish lobby by some of the hordes of smiling waiters and waitresses on duty.

The interior design is surreal; industrial pipes and pressure gauges on the walls contrast with a dance floor modeled on the Titanic ballroom. A frantic mix of English chandeliers, Chinese traditional hand-carved screens, a Gothic dome, and Eames-style furniture mix modern and retro demonstrates the designer's desperate efforts to create a unique space. But the music was great and everybody enjoyed the evening. It was the weekend and Latte was crowded with punters and staff.

"We have to be very careful. Competition is fierce and our rivals might send drug dealers and hookers into the lobby to get us into trouble," Ring, deputy manager of the dance club, told China.org.cn.

"We are well prepared; we have 200 staff on duty today, including many experienced security guards. We are keeping a close watch to stop anyone out to ruin our business." said Zhang Zhuo, who is in charge of the lobby at night.

They are right to be worried. With the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the PRC coming up on October 1, the authorities are planning another crackdown on drug-related crime, and clubs and other entertainment venues risk losing their licences.

A crackdown was made all the more likely by the high-profile arrest of 40-year-old Chinese pop star, Man Wenjun, who was caught in a drug bust on a Beijing night club in May.

(China.org.cn July 31, 2009)

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