High-end Golf Course Ban Signals Beijing?s Tenuous Position on Luxury
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Authorities Ban High-end Golf Courses Before Party Congress
The Chinese government has ordered to cease the golf-course offering at a Dalian Wanda-owned resort in northeastern China. The announcement came right before the week-long 19th Party Congress starting on October 18, in which President Xi Jinping was set to reinforce the importance of an anti-graft campaign that he initiated around 2013.
According to an official statement released by Fusong County government on October 13, Wanda was required to shut down high-end golf courses that were being offered at the international Changbaishan resort. The statement did not specify the reason for the closures nor did it indicate if it would be resumed in the future. Wanda opened the Changbaishan resort in 2012, aiming to offer a ?world-class? experience to domestic and international luxury travelers. The targeted golf service has long been highlighted by Wanda as a major attraction to tourists in its official promotional materials of the resort. The courses were designed by Jack Nicklaus? group and Robert Trent Jones. The resort joined Robert Trent Jones Jr. Club of China in 2013.
Beijing?s Inconsistent Attitude Toward Golf
The closures represent the latest move by Beijing to target golf, a sport that originated in the West, but is nicknamed ?green opium? by authorities in China. However, the closure did not come as a total surprise to people who were familiar with the complex history of the golf indu...
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