Beijing revamps luxury clubs with eye on affordability  

北京部分公园内会所降价开门 高档食材仍可“私订”

The Yishiliu club inside Beihai Park is no longer in business since Beijing's crackdown on luxury clubs in January. (Photo: Beijing Youth Daily)

(ECNS) -- In the past, private luxury clubs nestled in Beijing parks were only accessible to VIPs, with dinners often costing tens of thousands of yuan. Now, they have transformed to become affordable.

Beijing launched a revamp among luxury clubs in January in a move to curb government extravagance. The 24 clubs, all located inside parks, were favored by officials and businessmen for their intimate atmospheres. The revamp has shut down some and forced others to lower prices.

Yishiliu, a high-end club with six affiliates across the country, closed the one in Beihai Park. This is the same spot where Dowager Empress Cixi used to dine. Before the shutdown, it charged a minimum of 15,000 yuan ($2,500) per person for a table in a private room while a meal replicating royal dishes cost 1,888 yuan ($300) per person.

While Yishiliu still has other affiliates in business, the prices have been greatly slashed. Expensive ingredients such as shark fins and swallow nests are no longer on the menu. During the World Cup the club even ran a Brazilian BBQ for 98 yuan ($16) per person.

Some of these clubs, such as Wangyuelou in Zizhuyuan Park, started offering group purchases which include affordable meals for 200 yuan ($30) per head. 

Wangyuelou still offers room reservations for 500 yuan per person plus a 15 percent service fee, but it's a huge price drop from the 50,000 yuan ($8,000) a table before the revamp.

If consumers want a higher standard, we can also offer matching services, said an employee of Wangyuelou.