Lantern Announces Opening of New Three-Room Venue Near Dongdaqiao

Three months after the closure of Lantern and surrounding clubs and venues as part of the ongoing rebuilding of Workers' Stadium, management of the popular techno club has announced that they are opening a new venue near Dongdaqiao subway station.

The announcement was made via the club's official WeChat on Friday, saying "We are excited to announce that we have found a new home, the third one in more than a decade – one that is different in scale and layout, making different nights possible."

In what comes as some good news during a year marked by closures – partly on account of the ongoing economic fallout from the coronavirus – the new space will be even bigger than its predecessor, spanning three rooms and opening up more possibilities to hold simultaneous nights, all while creating a more dynamic club experience.

"The new Lantern is much bigger than the old one, with more interesting spatial relationships and richer content," Lantern's owner and manager Weng Weng tells the Beijinger. "In addition to keeping Lantern's main style, techno, we will arrange more music in other styles as well."

As detailed in the WeChat post, the club will be divided into a multi-purpose space; a large central room, marking the center of the club, and; an intimate "dark vault" space that will play host to a diverse range of electronic music events.

All of the rooms will be kitted out with lauded, UK-based Funktion-One sound systems "to deliver the best sound possible and give new Lantern the sonic voice it deserves."

Weng Weng says that while there's still a lot that needs to be done, the new space "should be open very soon." He also adds that although travel restrictions continue to hamper the entry of international DJs into China, he's upbeat about how the situation has allowed local voices in the scene to flourish.

"Recently, I have seen underground clubs in many cities develop and there are many new faces, which is definitely a good phenomenon," Weng Weng states, reassuring us that, "The opening party lineup will be very strong and people will recognize the usual direction of Lantern in terms of musical quality."

We'll keep you updated as to when exactly that will be.

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Images courtesy of Lantern