The truth about Beijing's Jingxi Hotel's corridors of party power
Security-flanked hotel which bans walk-in tourists is where officials thrash out policies
For while the Haidian district hotel is known for its impeccable service and gourmet fare - especially its home-made yoghurt - only a select few are ever meant to sample its delights.
Ordinary travellers have never been allowed past the 48-year-old hotel's drab, Soviet-style exterior. The heavily guarded Jingxi is where the Communist Party elite meet behind closed doors to hammer out high-stakes personnel decisions or to map out future policies.
Lu Jin, chairman of the Modern Chinese Literature Association, stayed at the Jingxi years ago for a China Federation of Literary and Art Circles conference.
In a column in the Chongqing Evening News in September, Lu said soldiers guarded every corner of the hotel, which has witnessed countless historic events, including a meeting of Communist Party leaders that approved the crackdown on the "Gang of Four".
"It is very hard for visitors of hotel guests to enter the hotel," Lu wrote. "The guard will have to make a call to seek permission from the guests. Visitors then have to go through round after round of security checks before getting in."
The Great Hall of the People may host the opening and closing ceremonies of party congresses but the Jingxi - managed by the PLA's General Staff Headquarters - is where the important, behind-the-scenes wrangling between the party elite is takes place.