From Prostitution's heyday to its decline—Taiyuan's karaoke bars and prostitutes

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-24

Recently, I've noticed a lot of discussion about prostitutes on forums. It seems people are quite interested in this social phenomenon.
Gu Long once said: "Since the beginning of humankind, two of the oldest professions have emerged: prostitutes and assassins." Since prostitution is an eternally ancient yet eternally young profession, it is also an eternally ancient yet eternally fresh topic.
I live in Taiyuan, a city that has remained largely unknown for decades, and in many people's minds, extremely mediocre and lacking any contemporary character. Many of my friends studying in other cities say that when they introduce themselves as being from Taiyuan, all they see on the other person's face is bewilderment. Taiwanese actor Ling Feng once said that the only provincial capital he didn't visit while filming "Eight Thousand Miles of Clouds and Moon" was Taiyuan.
Last spring, when I went to Huangshan, I passed through Nanjing. The local driver who drove us, upon hearing we were from Taiyuan, greeted us like old friends: "Taiyuan? I know! I've heard it's the second most notorious brothel in Asia after Bangkok! Voice of America even reported on it..."
I rarely leave Shanxi and know very little about other places. I don't know where that driver got his claim, but my friends who have traveled all over the country tell me that Taiyuan's sex industry is far inferior to cities like Hainan and Guangdong, and even some county-level cities in the south.
So, how did the notorious reputation of Taiyuan's brothels spread? It all stems from the distorted development of karaoke bars in Taiyuan.
I. The Origin of Karaoke Bars
Taiyuan's karaoke bars are what the south calls KTV karaoke rooms. In fact, in the late 1980s, large hotels like the Yingze Hotel already had teahouse-style karaoke
bars. Those who frequented these places were mostly Taiyuan's nouveau riche and those who, just a few months before, were selling socks on the street during the wave of reform and opening up. At the time, these places were considered to be frequented by "high-status" "aristocrats," and ordinary people had no chance to patronize them.
The earliest karaoke bars in Taiyuan appeared in Kaihua City in 1993. When more and more small karaoke bars suddenly sprang up in various corners, they immediately attracted the attention of the locals. I remember that the initial price for a karaoke bar in Taiyuan was three yuan per song, and sometimes renting out an entire afternoon only cost fifty yuan. This novel form of entertainment, at a relatively affordable price, was quickly accepted by the people.
In 1994, Taiyuan residents, who were usually a step behind other cities, were inspired by a certain official's southern tour and everyone dreamed of getting rich. A storefront of about ten square meters, a set of equipment worth tens of thousands of yuan, and a few sofas—low cost, high return—were the most suitable investment project. Thus, in that year, small karaoke bars blossomed like beautiful flowers throughout the streets and alleys of Taiyuan.
The urban management brigade in my district also actively participated in this trend. On the one hand, they broadcast the municipal government's notice on rectifying the city's appearance and hired a group of thugs in urban management uniforms to demolish illegal buildings with bulldozers. On the other hand, they built more than a dozen small karaoke bars by the flood discharge channel outside my compound.
At that time, the most fashionable pastime for college students on weekends or after graduation was to go to karaoke bars all night. Karaoke bars became a popular entertainment and social venue in Taiyuan.
At this time, the price of karaoke bars had been standardized at fifty yuan per hour, a price that has remained unchanged for many years and continues to this day.
II. The Boy Who Cried Wolf
No one remembers the exact time when the first prostitute stormed into the karaoke bars, but groups of prostitutes successfully landed in 1995 and became the main characters in the karaoke bars.
Karaoke bar prostitutes finally entered the sight of Taiyuan residents, although most Taiyuan citizens first saw these fashionable, slender Sichuan girls who liked to turn their backs to the camera from television news about "anti-prostitution" campaigns.
The term "Miss," long forgotten in traditional opera and classical novels, had just returned from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the people of Taiyuan generously bestowed it upon these fortune seekers from afar. Soon, "Miss" became a term with a special connotation, a connotation known to everyone in Taiyuan. Although the tabloids initially referred to them veiledly as "escorts" or "karaoke bar staff" (the word "service" carrying a deeper meaning), and although some intellectuals preferred to call them "singing girls," the term "Miss" quickly became the standard.
In Taiyuan, "Miss" primarily referred to women engaged in prostitution in karaoke bars, but also included their colleagues in saunas, hotels, and hair salons. In short, "Miss" and prostitute were synonymous.
Due to the climate and sandstorms, most girls in Taiyuan had rough skin and dull complexions. These charming newcomers from the south were treated like royalty by the people of Taiyuan, and prices were adjusted accordingly. Compared to karaoke bars, excluding other services, an hour of singing cost fifty yuan. In higher-end karaoke bars like Jin Changsheng and Xianhe, prices were slightly higher, and additional services usually required extra payment.
The booming market brought these girls several times more income than when they worked as hostesses in the south. They quickly introduced this newly developed market to their sisters in other places. Time was money; mail was too slow, so they sent telegrams instead. These shrewd and calculating girls used the most concise and precise words to complete a market analysis report brimming with business opportunities: "Foolish, rich, come quick!" This joke later spread throughout the country, albeit in different versions in different places.
III. The Rise of Prostitution
In 1995, thanks to the hard work of the sex workers, karaoke bars, which had become a popular entertainment venue for Taiyuan citizens, were given a new meaning: they became synonymous with brothels. That year, many Taiyuan women said the same thing to their husbands: "If you dare go to a karaoke bar, I'll divorce you!"
In early spring of 1996, Taiyuan City finally issued a notice to regulate the karaoke bar market. Some said this initiative came from the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, while others said it originated entirely from a certain Taiyuan official.
That year, spring came exceptionally early to Taiyuan. During the month-long regulation period, the streets were often filled with sex workers who lingered in Taiyuan, unwilling to leave and spending their days idly. Whenever they strolled through the streets in groups of three or five, oblivious to everyone else, their fashionable clothes and avant-garde makeup attracted everyone's attention. At that moment, many people's first impression was like the title of a movie: Happy Together.
The high-profile crackdown lasted less than a month before it ended, with the Wenzhou Karaoke Bar, located on South Inner Ring West Street, being the first to reopen.
There are various explanations for why the karaoke bars were allowed to reopen, but one widely known reason comes from the banking system: during the crackdown, Taiyuan's deposit balance decreased by 400 million yuan (some say 600 million yuan) – all withdrawn by the karaoke bar hostesses. A joke even circulated online: several hostesses approached a certain leader, one saying: "No land required, no loans, we'll bring our own equipment and start production." Another said: "We won't have sons or daughters, we won't be a burden on the country..." So, the leader slapped his forehead and said, "Alright, you can continue operating."
People understood the purpose of the crackdown from the municipal government's announcement: the initial intention wasn't to eliminate karaoke bars, but to guide them towards "large-scale development and centralized operation." All scattered street-side karaoke bars were closed, and all operations were concentrated in karaoke bars. Initially, there was a restriction that karaoke bars had to be larger than 40 square meters. However, rumors soon circulated that a leader had spoken: "Let those smaller than 40 square meters open too..." As a result, within just one or two months, dozens of large-scale karaoke centers, each accommodating hundreds of karaoke rooms, sprang up in Taiyuan like mushrooms after rain. Large karaoke centers such as Jin Changsheng, Yin Changsheng, Xianhe, Earth Village, Bailumen, Kaihua City, and Tianlong seemed to appear overnight, welcoming guests from all directions. Some karaoke bars even had partitions, allowing singing outside while having a separate, enclosed private room inside. Taiyuan's karaoke industry entered a period of rapid development and unprecedented prosperity. However, at this time, karaoke bars had become synonymous with brothels.
The karaoke industry in Taiyuan even saved some struggling businesses. Some companies with advantageous locations, which had already ceased operations or were partially shut down, converted their vacant factory buildings and office buildings into karaoke bars, saving their factories and employees during their most critical moments. Karaoke bars like Tianlong and Yingxi developed in this way. Many laid-off female workers were called back to the factories to clean the karaoke bars. The girls served the customers, and the laid-off women served the girls—all for the money. However, when the female workers saw that sometimes their monthly income was less than what the girls earned in a single day, they couldn't help but curse: "What kind of world is this? It's forcing good people into prostitution!"
For the first time in over a decade, the Taiyuan local government successfully guided and supported the long-term development of an industry. Karaoke bars became the most popular investment sector in those two years.
Many out-of-towners, upon entering some large karaoke bars, were awestruck by their honeycomb-like scale. Looking at the crisscrossing lanes within the karaoke bars, and the enthusiastic greetings from the owners and girls, they felt a sense of tranquility, like the bustling streets of Yangzhou in spring, with red sleeves beckoning to visitors.
At that time, the most famous karaoke bars in Taiyuan were Jin Changsheng and Yin Changsheng. People often said a rhyme: "Jin Changsheng, Yin Changsheng, there are no fish in the cabin, the cabin is full of rice!
" The word "rice" has a special meaning in the Taiyuan dialect. In Taiyuan slang, prostitutes are called "mi," "mizi," or "midui," brothel owners are called "mi mama," and visiting a prostitute is called "measuring rice." Later, anything related to prostitutes was also prefixed with "mi," such as the car that transported prostitutes being called a "mi car," the Ericsson
768 colorful-cased mobile phone favored by prostitutes being called a "mi machine," and people who frequented prostitutes being called "mi commander" or "mi bureau chief," etc. The term "mi" for prostitutes has a long history, but its widespread use only became apparent after the unprecedented prosperity of karaoke bars. In Taiyuan, almost everyone knew the meaning of "mi." A junior high school boy in my neighborhood told me that a girl in his class was bragging that even if she became a "mizi," she would find a way to "beat him up."
So, how many "mizi" were there in Taiyuan? No one has done a specific count, but the group that could withdraw 400 million yuan in such a short period is definitely not small. There's a popular saying that there are 40,000 prostitutes in Taiyuan, including 20,000 from Northeast China, 10,000 from Sichuan, and 10,000 from other regions. Most of them work in karaoke bars, with a significant number also working in saunas and upscale hotels. As for the street prostitutes near the train station, most come from impoverished counties in Shanxi, serving migrant workers and the general population; they have a low social status and are rarely referred to as "prostitutes." The number of hairdressers, who are more common in other regions, is extremely small in Taiyuan.
The pioneers of Taiyuan's karaoke bars were Sichuan prostitutes, who were once extremely popular, but in that year, they were overtaken by a large influx of women from Northeast China.
The 10,000 from other regions are said to include women from all over China except Taiwan and Macau. I have expressed doubt about this, but it has been corroborated by several people who say that the prostitutes from Tibet and Xinjiang are second-generation Han Chinese from the local area. While there are no Hong Kong prostitutes in the karaoke bars, they can be found in a high-end hotel in Taiyuan. Moreover, it's rumored that there are also prostitutes from Russia, Vietnam, and North Korea.
That year, Taiyuan residents' attitudes underwent a significant change. Both the government and the citizens of Taiyuan tacitly accepted or condoned the existence of prostitutes. People began to discuss them calmly. I once overheard people in a public bathhouse loudly discussing their amusing experiences of hiring prostitutes the previous night. Newspapers and television no longer concealed the existence of prostitutes, and many girls joked, "It's so good to be a man." We responded with, "Since Qian Gui (a karaoke bar) came along, women have learned how to spend money." Qian Gui was a luxurious entertainment venue located on Qinxian North Street, reportedly employing male prostitutes. Initially, some referred to them as "Mr.", but the term didn't become as widely used as "Miss." People were more accustomed to calling them "ducks."
The excessive development of Taiyuan's karaoke industry and the massive scale of Taiyuan's karaoke cities gained widespread fame amidst the astonished gazes of outsiders. Some visitors to Taiyuan would inquire about karaoke bars and prostitutes, and every weekend, customers from Beijing and Tianjin would drive there specifically to see them.
Also that year, the Taiyuan Municipal Tax Bureau began levying personal income tax on prostitutes, 200 yuan per person per month. A female deputy director of the bureau even wrote an article to argue for the legality and rationality of this move.
Also in that year, Voice of America reported on karaoke bars in Taiyuan, mentioning Kangle Street. The owners of the karaoke bars on Kangle Street were all related to a certain law enforcement agency. However, by the time of the Voice of America report, Kangle Street had already declined amidst the wave of concentrated karaoke bar operations.
IV. The Predecessors of Prostitutes
Speaking of prostitutes, the people of Taiyuan are not entirely unfamiliar with them. Unfortunately, very little written material has been left about this, so we cannot know the exact situation of prostitutes in Taiyuan's history.
"Fine wine in a luminous cup, I want to drink, but the pipa urges me on. Don't laugh at me, drunk on the battlefield; how many have returned from ancient battles!" This poem was written by Wang Han, a free-spirited poet from Taiyuan in the Tang Dynasty. In his youth, Wang Han was chivalrous and unrestrained, dashing and romantic. He hunted by day and frequented brothels by night, enjoying a life of leisure.
Taiyuan, also known as Beijing during the Tang Dynasty, was the place where Li Yuan and his son raised their army. It was the third largest city in China after Chang'an and Luoyang, and the political, economic, military, and cultural center of northern China. Prosperity seems to be inextricably linked to prostitution, and the Tang Dynasty was probably the first peak period for prostitution in Taiyuan.
In the 23rd year of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the great poet Li Bai and his friend Yuan Canjun (whose father was an official in Taiyuan) traveled upstream on the Jin River (could they have imagined that the Nanlao Spring would be dry today?), visiting the Jinci Temple. "In high spirits, I took courtesans and strolled along, like willow catkins falling like snow. Their red makeup, as if drunk, was perfect for the setting sun; their green eyebrows were reflected in the hundred-foot clear pool. Their green eyebrows were as beautiful as the crescent moon, and the beauties sang and danced in their silken robes. A gentle breeze carried their songs into the sky, the songs swirling around the drifting clouds." Even more than a decade later, this romantic encounter remained unforgettable for Li Bai, who lamented, "Such pleasures are hard to come by again."
In modern Taiyuan, prostitution initially occurred clandestinely, only gradually becoming legalized at the beginning of the century, with licenses issued by the police allowing the opening of brothels. At that time, prostitutes were mostly concentrated in the Old City Street, Chayuan Back Street, and Xinglong Street.
Around 1930, due to lax discipline among the troops stationed in Shijiazhuang, many local brothels moved to Taiyuan, the capital of the "model province." After Yan Xishan's defeat in the Central Plains War, Shanxi suffered a currency shortage and prices soared. However, brothels, adhering to the principle of offering discounts to customers and operating on a low-profit, high-volume basis, kept their prices unchanged, thus stimulating consumption. Taiyuan entered its second golden age of prostitution.
It is said that at that time, brothels were packed every day, with those arriving first going to their rooms and those arriving later going out in the open air in the courtyard, demonstrating the extent of their popularity.
Not only was it prosperous, but it also produced many famous courtesans. A renowned scholar, Song Gongzi, once gifted a famous courtesan named Xiao Bao a couplet: "This little girl is truly extraordinary; what can I do with this darling?"
Most noteworthy is the influential novel *Hua Yue Hen* (Traces of Flowers and the Moon), first published in 1888. Author Wei Renxiu tells the story of the joys and sorrows of Han Hesheng and Wei Chizhu (the author comparing himself to Wei Chizhu), known as the "Two Dragons of the Sea," and Du Caiqiu and Liu Qiuhen, known as the "Two Phoenixes of Bingzhou." The novel's theme, "A vow made in one night, unchanging for life," elevates the emotional relationships between scholars and beauties in brothels to an idealized extreme
. *Hua Yue Hen* was written in Taiyuan, focusing on the city's events and its famous scholars and courtesans. The Yu Garden, mentioned repeatedly in the book, is the famous Si Mei Garden of Taiyuan at the time. In 1996, inspired by *Hua Yue Hen*, a luxury hotel near the former site of Si Mei Garden was built and named the Yu Garden Hotel (unrelated to the Yu Gardens in Shanghai and Hong Kong).
V. The Story of the Prostitutes
Since prostitutes exist, people cannot ignore them. And these prostitutes inevitably influence the lives of Taiyuan residents.
Most of the prostitutes are quite young, many in their early twenties, but the youngest I've seen was sixteen, and the oldest was over forty.
Most prostitutes are somewhat attractive, but some would be considered extremely ordinary even in a small mountain town. Of course, many prostitutes themselves come from poor, remote mountainous areas, such as certain counties in Sichuan and Guizhou. For them, they can only compensate with makeup and seductive charm to have a place in Taiyuan's lowest-end karaoke bars.
In large karaoke bars like Xianhe and Jinchangsheng, there are many stunningly beautiful women. Although their standards and prices are exceptional, with enough money, nothing is impossible. Beauties that were once unattainable and unattainable can now be obtained with just a small amount of cash. This is truly a boon for nouveau riche who have nothing but money.
Of course, some women feign high-mindedness, or as Taiyuan locals say, they like to "play hard to get." I once heard that the head of a major provincial project took a fancy to a certain woman and wanted a one-night stand, but she refused, even after he raised the price to 100,000 yuan. Finally, she offered him a condition: he would start a company for her and leave the profession.
In reality,
99% of those who work as prostitutes are essentially prostitutes; it's just a matter of price. The reason only 1% remain is because in the past there were still courtesans who sold smiles but not their bodies, and probably still are today.
In Taiyuan, the most beautiful women aren't found in karaoke bars, but rather in saunas, where beauties abound, their overall quality clearly a level above those in karaoke bars, and of course, their prices are several levels higher.
Even in Loufan County, under Taiyuan's jurisdiction, these women are called "singing girls," a term also favored by Taiyuan's tabloid reporters. This is because their basic job is to sing with customers in karaoke bars. Among these singing girls are many who can amaze the entire room with a single song. If one were to dig deeper, while they might not produce Song Zuying or Peng Liyuan, there would certainly be countless second- or third-rate singers and actresses. Watching some so-called stars on television—whose looks, singing ability, and character are utterly mediocre yet enjoy boundless fame—one can't help but sigh, "Who pities the beautiful young woman, who, in her lowly position, becomes a prostitute by the riverbank?"
The identities of these women are extremely complex, but the majority are "unemployed youth," those who, after graduating from high school or dropping out, have nothing to do and end up in prostitution. The second largest group are so-called "laid-off workers." Women in Northeast China often claim to come from large, struggling state-owned enterprises; one I met claimed to be from a well-known winery in Guizhou. There are also women with more unusual backgrounds. Years ago, Taiyuan arrested female university students and female civil servants for prostitution to foreigners in hotels. Nowadays, many people work as prostitutes as a second job; it's common to see women with higher education, and some have even made sensational claims of encountering active-duty female soldiers looking for extra money—presumably drunken ramblings.
Regardless of their background, most fall into prostitution for profit, and this line of work is incredibly lucrative. A couple of years ago, it was common for an ordinary prostitute to earn tens of thousands of yuan a year. Therefore, getting these women to leave prostitution is extremely difficult, unless they've earned what they consider enough money.
Even at their peak, karaoke bars weren't always packed. For example, in winter, what did the women do during their off-season? I asked several, and most said: play mahjong, go shopping, sleep. Another time, in a less busy karaoke bar in a less prominent location, I asked a woman around thirty years old what she did while waiting for customers. She said they were all chatting, and she was knitting. Only then did I notice a paper bag next to her. Before leaving, I glanced at the bag; inside was a nearly finished children's sweater.
The women's hard work yielded two rewards: savings and spending. The main expense for these women is clothing and grooming, where they can afford to invest the most. Perhaps influenced by people from Shanxi, they have developed a habit of thrift. They usually share apartments, which serve as both living quarters and a place for business. With monthly rent in Taiyuan around 500 yuan, this expense is not much. They often rent near karaoke bars for convenience. If the commute is long or they are on the move, they take taxis, though I have seen them on buses several times. They usually eat at small restaurants near their accommodations and karaoke bars, only venturing into luxury hotels or other entertainment venues when guests are hosting or when they have gatherings with their friends. Other expenses include playing mahjong and smoking, which, while considered bad habits, are still relatively normal.
Abnormal expenses refer to two things: drug use, which is relatively high compared to other professions, and keeping a sugar daddy/kept man, which is a very small percentage among them. The reasons for this are likely either seeking emotional support or having a bodyguard/thug available at any time.
The quality of these women is plain for all to see. Most are vulgar in language, frivolous in manner, lazy, and averse to work. Due to their profession, their travels, and the influence of their environment, many of them, while appearing remarkably mature in social interactions, exuding a sense of world-weariness, are also extremely mercenary and opportunistic in their dealings with others. Sometimes, "shameless" is the most apt description of them. Thinking back to the famous courtesans of history—Su Xiaoxiao, Li Shishi, the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai—one cannot find a trace of their charm in these modern women; they possess only beautiful appearances. In ancient times, scholars frequented brothels, enjoying discussions of poetry and music with them when the mood struck. However, today's women, besides the naked transaction, can only be used to sing nonsensical pop songs and discuss trivial matters. If Li Bai, Du Mu, and Zhou Bangyan were alive today, they would likely be met with the mocking laughter and disdain of the women
in the karaoke bars as they walked ten steps away. Zheng Zhihua's song "Fallen Angel" sings, "Thin lips hold a thousand lies," a true reflection of the women in Taiyuan's karaoke bars. Fabricating stories and lying are second nature to them; of course, this is largely a means of self-protection. The most common method is to adopt an alias, such as Xiaoli or Rongrong, which is both pleasant to hear and easy to remember. Others include stories about their background and experiences. Therefore, stories of both truth and fiction often circulate in karaoke bars, making it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. I once heard a karaoke bar owner tell a story about a woman from Hunan who, orphaned and struggling to support her younger brother's education, was forced into prostitution by poverty. She endured humiliation and hardship for a year, and after earning 100,000 yuan, returned home in glory.
The women in Taiyuan have a certain influence on all sorts of people and industries in Taiyuan.
I estimate that most young men in Taiyuan have had contact with prostitutes. However, a significant number of them, like myself, went to karaoke bars for work-related reasons, and their interactions with the prostitutes were limited to singing, dancing, and chatting. Some, however, become addicted and find it endlessly enjoyable. A young man in our compound, influenced by his environment, developed a penchant for visiting karaoke bars and seeking out prostitutes after starting work. For him, hiring a prostitute to satisfy his needs was as simple as having a late-night snack. Those who know him say he has spent tens of thousands of yuan on this over the years.
Some young men in Taiyuan develop feelings for prostitutes over time, buying them jewelry, cell phones, and renting apartments for them. A friend of one of my colleagues even divorced his wife and lived with a prostitute.
On February 27th, the Taiyuan Evening News reported a similar story: a young man hadn't returned home for months, and his elderly father, suspecting something had happened, reported him missing to the police. It turned out the young man was living happily ever after with a Sichuan woman in a rented apartment. One was oblivious to his surroundings, the other was blissfully happy, leaving the elderly father, anxiously awaiting his son's return during the Spring Festival, heartbroken.
Currently, many prostitutes are actively exploring the last potential market on university campuses, with China Telecom's widespread installation of
200-card phones in student dormitories making this business even easier. In fact, as early as 1995, students at Taiyuan University of Technology brought a prostitute back to their dormitory. Only one male student took his textbooks to the library, while the other seven took turns trying their luck. After a series of encounters, some students refused to pay, presumably feeling they should be paid for their virginity. The prostitute argued her case, and the students eventually offered her some meal tickets to appease her. Enraged, the prostitute reported the incident to the university administration, resulting in the expulsion of all seven students.
Influenced by societal trends, some middle school students in their early teens also frequent karaoke bars. One sixteen-year-old delinquent stole over ten thousand yuan while his neighbor was out, squandering it all in a very short time.
A Taiyuan Evening News report stated that several junior high school students went to a karaoke bar during their vacation. The owner provided them with prostitutes, which they accepted. However, when they looked at the bill upon leaving, they were stunned. The owner detained them all until their angry parents arrived.
The young are like this, and the old are not to be outdone. Two jokes circulate about it. The first tells of someone asking an old man why he doesn't take care of his health and goes to karaoke bars at his age. The old man replies, "Don't you know? It's just too cheap." The second joke tells of some dutiful children who wanted to find a new wife for their widowed father, but were refused. The old man said, "At this age, even if I find a companion, she'll just be a walking pharmacy, and I'll have to take care of her. I think I don't need to find one. Just give me a hundred yuan a month so I can go to karaoke twice a month."
In fact, the women of Taiyuan are more affected. When they see young women dressed in high-fashion clothes, wearing expensive perfume, and flirting with wealthy men on their cell phones, no woman can remain unmoved. There's a karaoke bar right across from the Taiyuan Bank School. Girls who go out to buy snacks every day can hardly help but talk about the attractive young women, only a few years older than themselves, at the karaoke bar across the street after lights out.
A male colleague of mine once said to a few female colleagues in a serious tone, "You guys are really out of your minds. If it were me, I would have become a prostitute long ago." The female colleagues giggled, and after laughing, no one spoke for a long time.
Prostitutes have always been leaders in the latest fashion trends. It is said that the most ladylike braids and the most elegant old Shanghai-style haircuts first became popular in brothels. Although many prostitutes' makeup and attire were extremely vulgar and frivolous, many more were leading the trends, giving vivid fashion lessons to the girls of Taiyuan who had never been good at dressing up. Looking at the increasing avant-garde and revealing clothes on the streets, some people shook their heads and said, "Sigh, the girls of Taiyuan have all been corrupted by the prostitutes."
It wasn't just clothing; in terms of values, some women in Taiyuan were also influenced by prostitutes. Shortly after the first batch of prostitutes from other places entered Taiyuan, local prostitutes appeared. At that time, Taiyuan police frequently organized anti-prostitution operations. In one news report, police officers were seen questioning women who were covering their faces with their hands, demanding, "Where are you from?!" The women answered one by one, "Chongqing, Shapingba..." Then someone suddenly blurted out, "Shanxi Textile Printing and Dyeing Factory."
The Shanxi Textile Printing and Dyeing Factory later became the protagonist of Shanxi's largest corporate bankruptcy case, with thousands of textile workers not receiving their wages for over a year. It is said that any Shanxi textile workers arrested for prostitution were released.
Nothing is more embarrassing for the women than encountering someone from their hometown in a foreign land. Therefore, the local Taiyuan women quickly disappeared and moved on to other places. Unlike the trend of Shanxi's talented women migrating southeast, most Taiyuan women chose to go north, becoming active in places like Datong and Inner Mongolia.
The presence of tens of thousands of sex workers represents a significant consumer market, a fact most acutely felt by those in the clothing and cosmetics retail, catering, taxi, and public housing sectors. Some even boast that sex workers bring economic benefits to Taiyuan, unaware that the money they earn is dozens of times greater.
The main consumers of karaoke bars and sex workers are wealthy individuals and those using public funds. These two groups not only frequent karaoke bars but some also keep sex workers as mistresses. For the wealthy, it's understandable; since the government tacitly approves of sex workers' existence, and given their lack of high moral character and awareness, why can't corrupt officials indulge in such activities?
However, using public funds for karaoke bars is extremely common in Taiyuan. Many government agencies hold official social gatherings in karaoke bars or saunas, invariably requiring sex workers to create a lively atmosphere and pursue personal gain.
Some government officials, those corrupt officials, use public funds, while ordinary public servants in certain powerful units, those corrupt bureaucrats, who can't use public funds, abuse their power. The most ordinary staff in these agencies—industry and commerce, taxation, banking, urban management, district governments, and various inspection teams—are deliberately fawned upon by the businesses they govern, who dare not offend these lowly officials. The Communist army is not afraid of drinking, a thousand cups are nothing to them, hot pot simmers gently, fresh seafood and fish balls abound, saunas offer warmth, karaoke bars sing until dawn, and they revel in the snow-white ladies, their faces beaming after the three services. Without real life, how could such vividly distorted verses exist?
A restaurant owner told me that once, several long-absent public officials visited. After a hearty meal and drinks, they casually remarked, "I heard the girls here are pretty good. Take us to have some fun!" Afterward, the restaurant owner inquired, "How were the girls?" The reply was, "They were good, but some had bad breath."
While the existence of prostitutes in karaoke bars is tacitly acknowledged, no one claims prostitution is legal. Thus, like corruption, despite its prevalence, no one can claim absolute innocence. However, officials who fall from grace due to this issue are mostly those who have offended someone and been targeted. A leader in a district government in Taiyuan was dismissed for visiting prostitutes, while another police officer was even more unjustly caught red-handed by his colleagues within his own jurisdiction and dismissed from public office—it was undoubtedly an excuse someone used to target him.
Once, chatting with a karaoke bar owner, he said with a hint of envy, "With so many prostitutes in Taiyuan, those policemen have it easy." This wasn't an exaggeration; everyone knows the close relationship between police and prostitutes. Not long ago, there was a news story online about prostitutes in a certain area taking police cars to work. I pass by the karaoke bar every day, and often see prostitutes arriving in police cars on my way to work in the afternoon. The police are willing to accept free services, and the prostitutes want to find a backer, so they hit it off.
It is precisely because of this that there have been virtually no anti-prostitution operations in recent years. Of course, in some large karaoke bars with powerful backers, the police can't even get in. There are fully armed security guards in helmets standing at the entrance, and anyone who tries to go in to check will receive a reprimand from their superiors on their phone within three minutes.
One year, I and some colleagues were in a closed training camp at a guesthouse in the northern suburbs of Taiyuan. In the evening, with nothing to do, we went to sing at the karaoke bar across the street. These karaoke bars are usually two rooms combined, separated by a curtain. The outer room is for singing, and the inner room has a sofa. While we were singing loudly, several local policemen pushed open the door, looked around, and then very skillfully pulled back the curtain. Seeing that the room was empty, they left dejectedly. Soon after, I went outside to see what was going on and happened to see them leaving. The other girls who knew the police were fine, but a girl who was new to the area and didn't have a temporary residence permit was arrested. Watching several burly men escorting a petite girl away, I truly admired the girl's resolute steps and courage, like a communist marching to the execution ground. The boss told me that the police here come often, ignoring the customers who call for girls, only those without temporary residence permits. I asked, "What do they take the girls back for?" The boss widened his eyes and asked me in the local dialect, "What do you think they can do with them?!"
Two years ago, a head of a traffic police department in Taiyuan died in a car accident while going to Wutai Mountain to offer incense. People who knew him said it was because he had done too many bad things, and Buddha had blessed him. But at his memorial service, several groups of girls came to mourn this man who had been blessed by Buddha.
For various reasons, I often travel by long-distance bus to other cities in Shanxi Province, and in recent years, I have encountered girls who are dedicated to expanding into new markets almost every time. The women traveling together are never too many or too few, usually three to five. They travel extremely light, without any unnecessary items, including changes of clothes. They don't even carry the backpacks that city girls usually carry; each carries a tiny handbag, as if they were just getting around the city. Those willing to go to less developed cities are the lowest-class women in Taiyuan. Without exception, these women are plain-looking, older, and their faces are etched with the marks of time. Despite this, they still become the focus of attention on the bus. The women know they attract attention, and if they want others to hear them, they speak loudly in heavily accented Mandarin; otherwise, they speak in hushed tones in their local dialect. Perhaps because most people in Shanxi are rather traditional and conservative, although the journey is tedious, few people on the bus engage in conversation with the women. Once, on a trip to Yangquan, there were about ten migrant workers from Henan on the bus. After a moment of quiet, they began to flirt with the women, their language becoming increasingly vulgar and explicit. At this point, an older migrant worker who had been silent all along suddenly shouted angrily in his Henan dialect, and the other migrant workers immediately fell silent.
It was during this time that I heard from a classmate in Yangquan that a young woman from Northeast China had died there a couple of days ago. While having dinner with several business owners, one of them promised her fifty yuan for each drink. This woman, perhaps still in the early stages of accumulating wealth, was willing to risk her life for money and drank ten drinks in a row, ultimately succumbing to her injuries.
VI. Tears of the Wandering World
According to the old saying, both young women and chivalrous heroes were people of the martial arts world, venturing out into the world, experiencing countless joys and sorrows.
What prostitutes least want to encounter are thugs who refuse to pay their debts and perverted villains.
A female colleague of mine encountered two prostitutes seeking treatment at the hospital; their bodies bore numerous gruesome scars from knife cuts and cigarette burns.
Last year, a criminal gang was busted. They would typically bring multiple prostitutes home at once, and besides sexual abuse, they enjoyed watching the prostitutes undress side-by-side and perform a nude dance. Any resistance would result in a severe beating.
In Loufan County, under the jurisdiction of Taiyuan, the son of a wealthy landowner, dissatisfied with the prostitutes' service, attempted to renege on his debt. During the ensuing argument, he became enraged, beat the prostitute, singed her pubic hair with a lighter, burned her in several places with cigarette butts, and kicked her out of the house. However, the karaoke bar owner, who had powerful connections, demanded 5,000 yuan in compensation. The young man refused, and the karaoke bar owner used other incriminating evidence to send him to prison.
Prostitutes, with their high incomes and access to gold and silver, become targets for criminals.
The following are several memorable news reports from Taiyuan media. Due to the passage of time, some details have faded from memory, but their authenticity is guaranteed.
In 1997, two migrant workers from Henan went to several karaoke bars on Tiyu Road, claiming they had unearthed a golden Buddha statue during construction work and wanted to sell it cheaply to return home. They repeatedly swindled cash and gold and silver jewelry from the women.
In 1999, a man from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, along with an accomplice, went to a karaoke bar and, while the women were away, deposited a suitcase containing a whole box of banknotes at the train station in front of them. The next day, they claimed they suddenly needed money and used the deposit slip as collateral, swindling tens of thousands of yuan from the women. When the women retrieved the suitcase, it was filled with nothing but worthless paper, except for a few pieces on the surface.
In addition, some swindlers exchanged worthless Peruvian currency for RMB from the women.
Others, unscrupulous individuals, would put triazolam and other anesthetic drugs in drinks and tea, then rob the women after they were unconscious, stealing cash, jewelry, pagers, mobile phones, and other valuables.
A bank employee, from a wealthy family, had a penchant for robbing prostitutes. He and his accomplices would often follow prostitutes home late at night, robbing them on the street or in their homes. Their methods were brutal, and most of the victims did not report the crimes.
It wasn't just thugs targeting prostitutes; one woman had a large sum of money stolen from her home, and only after the case was solved did she discover that another prostitute, who shared an apartment with her, was responsible. This prostitute then appeared on television as a victim, though her face was digitally altered during the broadcast.
News of prostitutes committing crimes is frequently reported, such as theft and swindling. Another common crime is "pigeon cop," where a prostitute brings a customer home, and then an accomplice breaks in and extorts money from the customer.
Because of the prostitutes' profession, the police sometimes need to consult them. In one murder case, the final clue led to a prostitute who had worked at several karaoke bars, was elusive, and only used aliases. The police went to great lengths, searching high and low, before finally finding her and solving the case based on her information.
Last year, I read a report that 26 sex workers in Shenyang died violent deaths in six months. In Taiyuan, sex work is also a high-risk profession, and due to the nature of the job and the complexity of social relationships, most murders of sex workers are difficult to solve.
A worker surnamed A, from the Taiyuan postal and telecommunications system, became acquainted with a sex worker surnamed B who rented an apartment in Hexi. He frequently visited B's residence for prostitution. One day, after waking up, they argued over money. Enraged, A strangled B to death. He then broke into the room of another woman, surnamed C, who shared the apartment with B, and repeatedly struck her on the head with a bedside lamp, attempting to kill her to cover his tracks. However, C miraculously survived, and A was arrested that same day.
Miss D from Inner Mongolia went to visit her sister, Miss E, who lived alone, only to discover that her sister had been murdered several days earlier. The police, using a stolen pager as a clue, followed the trail and solved the case. It turned out that a businessman from Lüliang had been renting Miss E his property for a long time. Miss E, infatuated with him, demanded that the businessman divorce his wife and marry her, repeatedly threatening him. Seeing he was in a difficult position, the businessman, without hesitation, hired a hitman from his hometown to kill Miss E. However, this hitman, from the mountains, was short-sighted and stole Miss E's pager, giving it to a fellow villager, thus sowing the seeds of future trouble.
Meanwhile, another man, a bachelor from Taiyuan, also infatuated with a woman from Sichuan, repeatedly asked her to marry him, but she always refused. After bringing the woman home one last time, he gave her an ultimatum, which she refused, and then strangled her to death.
In front of the compound where I live is a flood discharge channel. On the opposite bank is a less frequented path. One November day last year, on my way home from get off work, I saw ten cars parked on the path. Several police officers and plainclothes officers were looking down at something in the bushes. On this side of the channel, about two hundred people were gazing across, apparently having discovered a body. The police soon left, neither taking the body nor leaving anyone to guard it. The onlookers rushed to the other side. I didn't go to see, because I've always been afraid of dead people. Just a few days earlier, the case of the dismembered and burned female graduate student from Shanxi University had been solved. After posting the report and her photo online late one night, I often suffered from insomnia and for a long time, I was afraid to go down to the basement alone. Soon after, someone who had seen it returned and gave a live report: It was a woman, quite pretty, with dyed hair, clearly a prostitute, with only a head and two legs. Two prostitutes who had run out from a nearby karaoke bar were also listening. I really wanted to say to them: Aren't you going to go and see? Maybe it's your sister.
Like the Zhejiang tailors who came to Taiyuan, the prostitutes also developed their businesses through incest. For example, if one girl in a dormitory became a prostitute, the entire dormitory was likely to be involved in prostitution. Therefore, in Taiyuan's karaoke bars, you could meet relatives, sisters, sisters-in-law, and aunts-in-law—all sorts of relationships. The most unusual case was a couple from Northeast China, F and G, who came to Taiyuan and engaged in prostitution. One day, several acquaintances from the same hometown came to a karaoke bar. Among them, Mr. H, probably just for fun, insisted that G, who was working as a prostitute there, accompany him. G, out of pride, refused, so Mr. H forcibly dragged her into the karaoke bar. Afterwards, G felt deeply humiliated and indignant. She cried out to her husband, Mr. F, "A friend's wife is not to be trifled with!" Mr. F was furious and called Mr. H to berate him. Mr. H was also enraged. "We're both paying money, and it's okay for outsiders to sleep with your wife, but it's not okay for fellow villagers to even touch her?" Unable to agree, the two arranged to meet that evening at the entrance of a karaoke bar to discuss the matter. So both sides brought their respective groups to the meeting. Upon meeting, a fierce fight broke out. H swung a stick, and F was killed instantly.
VII. The Decline In
1997, amidst high-level political power struggles, a leader in Shanxi Province became a target. His rivals began seeking breakthroughs on another front. Reporters from CCTV's "Focus Interview" were tasked with a mission, splitting into several groups and secretly entering Shanxi. Taiyuan's karaoke bars were not spared.
"Focus Interview" has a good reputation, but that doesn't mean all its actions and reporters are commendable; some are even despicable.
Last year, many newspapers reported stories of two long queues outside CCTV, which were actually the lowest level of competition.
After the nationwide scandal of traffic police in Licheng County, Changzhi, issuing arbitrary fines was exposed, Shanxi learned its lesson and worked diligently. Eventually, programs about Taiyuan karaoke bars and others were banned from "Focus Interview."
Taiyuan karaoke bars escaped unscathed through extraordinary means, but economic laws are immutable.
People in Taiyuan have always had a tendency to flock to everything they do, whether it's taxis, saunas, express buses, nightclubs, bowling alleys, or anything else. Karaoke bars, in particular, saw blind development and proliferated, becoming a spectacle in the eyes of outsiders.
A few years later, the novelty of karaoke bars and hostesses wore off, and most people lost interest in going to karaoke bars. The overdeveloped karaoke scene in Taiyuan inevitably led to its decline.
Taiyuan, as a slowly developing inland city, is less affected by external factors. However, the decline of karaoke bars coincided with the Asian financial crisis, which is purely coincidental. In fact, Taiyuan's overall economy began to decline in the late 1980s, but no one ever tried to change it. Instead, they were keen on building the Taijiu Road (the new road was named Taijiu), diverting water from the Yellow River (while the whole country was cracking down on prostitution, Shanxi was the only province diverting water from the Yellow River), and building thermal power plants (Shanxi already had the worst pollution in the country, was extremely short of water, and was showing signs of excess electricity resources). By the mid-1990s, the market began to decline, mainly manifested in market shrinkage, decreased social purchasing power, and prices falling instead of rising. From this perspective, the decline of karaoke bars was inevitable.
Starting in 1998, some karaoke bars closed down one after another, and many of the remaining ones had become blatant intermediaries for prostitutes and clients. Some karaoke bars were already dilapidated when they opened, with collapsed sofas and missing parts. The owners, seeing no future, were unwilling to invest in renovations, creating a desolate scene. Of course, those well-known, high-end karaoke bars remained popular.
In 1999, the State Council issued a notice prohibiting paid escort services. There were initial concerns that this would be a fatal blow to Taiyuan's already declining karaoke industry, but it had little effect.
Undoubtedly, the development of karaoke bars provided Taiyuan with a new economic growth point and tens of thousands of jobs. A considerable number of people in Taiyuan worked in karaoke-related fields, and this team, honed through practical experience, accumulated valuable expertise—a significant contribution of the karaoke industry to Taiyuan. While Taiyuan's karaoke bars began to decline, many karaoke bar owners and hostesses collaborated to explore new markets. Today, many karaoke bars in other cities in Shanxi Province are owned by people from Taiyuan, such as Datong and Xiaoyi, and even Baotou and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia.
In 1999, I saw numerous job postings on utility poles seeking karaoke girls. The posters even specified elegant working conditions, generous pay, and free room and board. It seemed karaoke bar owners were preparing to switch locations.
Xiaoyi, named after Zheng Xing, a local resident during the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, whose filial piety was renowned at court, is now a county-level city that has become incredibly wealthy by sacrificing the environment to develop rudimentary coking methods. It has produced a large number of extravagant coking tycoons and rural magnates. It is said that ten years ago, one of these coking tycoons, after finding a new love, built a villa for his first wife, costing ten million RMB. A newly appointed county official immediately visited the local deity
—
a billionaire who was on friendly terms with some provincial leaders and had lent money to a government agency for salary payments. After waiting for two hours at the gate with his secretary, the official was told: "The boss is busy today; please make an appointment another day." Two large envelopes were attached, each containing thirty thousand RMB. Money emboldens people. Another ruthless nouveau riche lectured his drivers: "What if you hit someone on the road? Just back up and run them over, save me the trouble!"
The shrewd people of Taiyuan saw the huge market here and ventured into Xiaoyi. It's said that Shanxi's largest karaoke city isn't in Taiyuan, but in Xiaoyi. The first batch of girls arriving in Xiaoyi became rare commodities; they often barely spoke a word to ordinary customers. But soon, subsequent groups arrived, and the girls resumed their tradition of welcoming with smiles and providing enthusiastic service, just as the people of Xiaoyi said as they left the karaoke bars: "Sluts!"
It's also worth mentioning Yangmingbao in Daixian County. During the Anti-Japanese War,
the 129th Division launched a surprise attack on Yangmingbao Airport, destroying 24 enemy planes and providing crucial support for the Battle of Xinkou. Today, Yangmingbao Town is a notorious brothel in northern Shanxi. Actually, Yangmingbao Town has no connection to Taiyuan's karaoke bars, and in my memory, the county seems to have risen to prominence before Taiyuan. Hundreds of restaurants here are frequented by prostitutes, while the town's luxury hotels offer a full range of services including prostitution, gambling, and drugs. Compared to Taiyuan, this is completely open, attracting not only locals but also clients from Hebei province. In the summer of 1999, in response to the State Council's crackdown on prostitution, the Shanxi Provincial Public Security Bureau organized a large-scale operation. Compared to previous operations, this one was extremely secretive. The more than 400 police officers and armed police involved did not know their destination until midnight. After driving 200 kilometers to surround Yangmingbao Town, they caught the prostitutes in the act at one of their key targets, a large hotel. Many clients and prostitutes were handcuffed together before they could even put on their clothes. The entire process was filmed by a war correspondent, including many explicit scenes.
Datong, a famous city beyond the Great Wall, served as the capital of three dynasties and an important town in two dynasties.
Since ancient times, it has been known as a rare land of beauties in Shanxi. Datong girls are not only beautiful, tall, and tasteful in clothing and makeup, but also lively and open-minded. Among the rare Shanxi ladies in Taiyuan's karaoke bars, Datong girls are a major force. Now, following in Taiyuan's footsteps, Datong has risen to fame, attracting many karaoke bar owners and drawing many karaoke bar girls northwards, where spring is in full bloom.

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