Inside a private cinema room in Chongqing.- ST PHOTO: AW CHENG WEI
CHONGQING: The entrance to XM private cinema in south-western Chongqing municipality offers no clues to its business: just a regular brown door and no signboard.
Customers are directed from the entrance to the 23rd floor of a nondescript commercial building, only after finding the operator on review site Dianping and then adding it on the messaging app Weixin to obtain the full address. The Dianping listing itself gives only a street name and number.
Inside the dimly-lit unit, an attendant sits behind a desk with an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts, while the walls are plastered with posters of scantily clad women.
Around him are smaller private rooms that customers can book to watch movies from streaming sites. In one room, a double bed sits on the floor, with a projector pointing at the opposite wall.
Private cinemas in China have been in the spotlight since Dec 21, when the police in three cities issued notices on clampdowns aimed at ensuring such venues are not used as fronts for illegal activities.
The police in south-western Chengdu, north-western Xi’an and southern Sanya said in their online notices that they are deepening investigations and processing the cases from raids recently conducted in their cities. They did not specify when the raids were conducted.
The notices added that China adopts a zero-tolerance stance towards criminal activities, and businesses are to “strictly abide by all national laws and regulations” to “jointly maintain a healthy industry and social atmosphere”.
“We will strictly investigate and punish all types of illegal acts in entertainment venues according to the law, deepen governance and implement routine supervision to ensure the continued purification of the cultural market,” the police said.
When The Straits Times posed as a customer at three private cinemas in Chongqing, all within walking distance of each other, staff said the venues do not allow overnight stays, operate only until 3am and do not offer “companion services”.
Apart from the lone attendant at each venue, no customers were in sight, though it was unclear whether the rooms were occupied.
Private cinemas in China refer to entertainment venues where customers can book personal rooms to watch movies alone, as a couple or in a group that does not exceed the maximum number of people allowed under fire codes.
Such cinemas, usually located in quieter commercial areas in cities, have been in operation in China for at least 14 years. Beijing recorded its first such venue in 2011. The cinemas had first come up as a way to provide customers with a more private experience, given that patrons at mainstream cinemas can sometimes be rowdy.
Private cinemas are legal in China, though some errant operators have run afoul of the law by infringing copyright or providing illicit services.
Customers can typically choose to play or stream their own movies or pick one from the cinemas’ selection – though some operators might offer films without having obtained the copyright to broadcast them, according to media reports that date back to 2018. Fees depend on how long customers book the room for, the room size, and how luxurious the settings are – similar to how karaoke lounges operate.
For example, in Chongqing municipality in south-western China, fees can start from 80 yuan (S$15) and go beyond 1,000 yuan, according to price lists on review sites.
Some private cinemas in Chongqing operate out of mixed developments in the municipality, with the units within the building segmented into smaller rooms to offer customers a more private experience.
In Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, the police said they have conducted three blitzes at more than 20 venues since the start of the year, and found two venues “involved in pornographic activities”, resulting in eight people being punished and the shutting down of two venues.
In one district, two private cinemas did not adhere to the law and properly register overnight guests while another operator was discovered to have “provided for-profit companionship services”, the authorities added.
For-profit companionship refers to customers paying for someone to be in the room with them, though whether sexual acts take place or not might depend on arrangements between the paid-for companion and the customer. Sex-for-sale services are illegal in China.
Venues that offer overnight stays are legally obliged to register guests’ real names and verify them by their identity cards, according to Chinese law.
The police in Chengdu will conduct further investigations to determine whether the operators and employees at the venues that were raided had committed other crimes, the official notice said.
In Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province, and Sanya, a popular tourist destination in Hainan province, the police said they are processing the cases that had resulted from raids they conducted recently.
In Xi’an, four operators were detained and three others who provided companion services have been penalised, while in Sanya, the police arrested the operator at Beibei private cinema and punished three employees.
The Xi’an police said they acted after a private cinema called Zhumeng “had received attention online for offering companionship services” while the Sanya police simply said they had uncovered the crimes following checks on a private cinema called Beibei.
The Chengdu police said their crackdown was a result of public feedback and media attention.
The three notices did not specify the punishment meted out other than for those who have been detained.
Local media had earlier reported that private cinemas in some Chinese cities were offering paid companion services, with packages starting at 299 yuan. The earliest cases reported about private cinemas offering sex-for-sale services were in May and July in 2025 in two cities in south-eastern Jiangxi province.
Media reports noted that errant operators would even inform customers on social messaging platforms that they could pay more to have their companions dressed in qipao – a traditional Chinese costume worn by women – or as flight stewardesses or maids. “If there’s a need, customers can also book the women overnight,” the messages added.
A person who works in the nightlife industry in Chongqing told ST that private cinema operators have been more cautious about advertising sex-for-sale services, given the recent media attention.
He described the women who work in the industry as “pretty, no older than mid-20s and holding qualifications ranging from vocational schools to universities”.
“Some are still studying,” he said.
The men who visit errant private cinemas range from “students to middle-aged men”, he said, adding that “a number of the private cinemas will still offer sex-for-sale services if they know the customer well”.
“The women are quite likely to be living in residential units nearby or in other units within the same compound so they can be ready to respond if there’s a request,” said the person, who declined to be named as he was speaking about the industry’s illicit practices. - The Straits Times/ANN
