Dada Beijing's Gulou Faces Impending Closure, Relocation Planned

原创 Drew Pittock theBeijinger

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Over the past week, Dada Beijing has alluded to the fact that they will be relocating in the near future. According to a post from the club’s official WeChat account this past Tuesday, “Yes, Dada Beijing will probably need to move to another location at some point but we don’t know when – next week, next month, next year – we don’t know.” Likewise, though it hasn’t landed on their WeChat account as of yet, Dada impresario Michael recently shared a poster on his personal WeChat account for a “One Last Dada Beijing Bang-Up” next Friday, May 28. Needless to say, the whole thing is a bit vague and, given the fact that Dada has been nothing short of an institution for nearly a decade now, we thought it prescient to get to the bottom of things.

Luckily, Michael was kind enough to give us a few more details, although they are still vague. To be fair, however, Beijing business owners – especially those operating in the nightlife industry – tend to exist in a perpetual state of vagueness.

Sweat, smoky, and a damn good time

At any rate, as Michael explains, “We don’t know when we’re going to get shut down at 206 Gulou, but it’ll probably happen soon,” adding, “The soonest date we’ve been given is Jun 1, but we might be there in August, still not totally sure.” Despite the possibility of still being around in August, he put the likelihood of shutting down the Gulou location next month at about 90 percent. The whole thing is understandably frustrating as he doesn’t want to host a definitive going away party, only to remain open for a month or two more. On the same token, he doesn’t want to get kicked out with little to no warning, and thus no opportunity to have a proper send-off. “So I’m not going 100 percent closing party, but there’s a really good chance that it could be, so we’re kind of trying to hype it up as a possible closing party,” says Michael.

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For what it’s worth, unlike some spots that have shuttered over the past year such as DDC and Temple, Dada already has a contingency plan in place, complete with a new location that’s been secured and is currently under construction. At the moment, Michael doesn’t want to disclose where that location is as there are still “a few loose ends to tie up before we go public with it,” but rest assured it’ll be ready to go when Gulou calls it quits.

From disco to cold wave and deep house to punk, Dada has long attracted music fans of all stripes

So! That’s the long and the short of it, folks. Bottom line, you might only have two more weekends to swing by Dada’s iconic Gulou location, so you better make the most of it. Aside from the party that’s being planned for next weekend (stay tuned for more details), this Saturday, May 22, the club will host stalwarts of Beijing’s darkwave scene, Pretty Cold, who have been spinning their signature blend of cold wave, post-punk, new wave, and EBM at Dada since 2016.

Pretty Cold kick off what could be the last two weeks of Dada Gulou tomorrow night

As this week’s WeChat announcement so succinctly put it, “We’re telling you now that 206 Gulou won’t last forever, and we urge you to come visit Dada ASAP and often before we have to shut down at this location. We’ve been here nine years, and we’ll all miss this magical location – so let’s enjoy it while it’s still here!”

To find out the latest info about Dada’s developments, as well as a full list of events over (what might be the last) next two weeks, follow them on WeChat, dadabarbeijing.