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Bird Bar in Dali to shut doors after 10 years

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Since 2000 the Bird Bar has been one of Dali's most unique bars, offering a pleasant, friendly environment for people to sit around and chat or play a game of pool or foosball.

We have been notified by Bird Bar owners Zhao Rongjie and Liu Xinmin that they will close the Bird Bar on October 10 after more than 10 years at the top of Renmin Lu.

On October 7, the Bird Bar will throw one last party to celebrate the memories and friendships made over the last decade. The Bird Bar has sent the following invitation to its friends:

Flight Diary——- To All Birds

At the beginning of this year, we were reminded by our landlord that the lease for the bar section of the Bird Bar would be expiring in October. Despite our efforts to negotiate a new contract, an agreement could not be met. Therefore, as of October 10, the Bird Bar will be closed. The Bird's Nest guesthouse behind the bar will remain in operation.

On October 7 at the Bird Bar, we will have a farewell party, and we are inviting all of our dear friends.

Over the past ten years, countless moments have been made at the Bird Bar. It has been the setting of so many stories – stories about having fun, of drinking and laughing, of crying, of stargazing while waiting for the sun, of flying high into the outer limits and then returning back to earth – always together.

You are The Birds. The extraordinary beings that have shown us beauty in this world. The remarkable individuals that have given us a key to happiness in Life.

So, now it's time to fly... where to next?

2558Speakeasy Bar#http://www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/1500/interview_sam_debell_of_speakeasy_bar# in Kunming closed its doors for the last time this past April.

The demise of the Speak and now the Bird may be harbingers of more closings to come in the future. We've spoken with a few successful restaurant and bar owners around Kunming and Yunnan and there is a growing concern among their ranks that there may be more prominent dining and drinking venues closing because of rapidly increasing rents.

The Bird Bar closing party on Thursday, October 7 will be an alien costume party. DJ Yan will provide the music and the party will run from 9pm to 4am. Entry will be free.

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Comments

It occurs to me that there may be more to this than the rent increase?

[UNF]

the bird bar means a lot to a lot of people. many of us are here because of the life we found there. i owe more to rongjie and xinmin than could ever be repaid and i look forward to their next phase. simply closing the door does not mean the end of the bird bar. ong...

[UNF]

the guesthouse courtyard was always better than the bar anyway!

I don't think there is more to this than the rent increase. Business owners who rent their properties have very few legal protections against their greedy landlords. These landlords try to run short leases and hike up rent as much as they think they can get away with every time.

Sadly, it's the people who have enough intelligence, drive and creativity to set up a successful business instead of a clone of an existing business model that often suffer the most under this ludicrous system. When a business is successful and the landlord knows it's making more money than its neighbors, (s)he know that he can raise the rent to even more astronomical heights.

For my brothers JieSan and Jack. Forever rest in peace. RongJie, XinMin, forever respect and gratitude. I love you with all my heart. Wish i could be there for Oct.7. but in spirit...will be.

Canadian Jason.

[UNF]

Very sad ... The Bird Bar was a Yunnan institution.

[UNF]

鸟吧承载了太多太多的记忆和故事,是一个装满钻石的美丽花园
谢谢荣洁和新民你们太猛了~鸟吧才不会因为这样的原因就飞不起来呢,这也不是结束
不管我们飞到哪,鸟吧永远是属于鸟儿的地方

[UNF]

This place should have been shut down years ago. We went there in 2006 me and my chinese girlfriend were attacked and beaten in the face till bleeding. Called the police who came and didnt take statements from anyone involved even though we pointed out the 2 chinese guys who had asssaulted us.
They wouldnt take a statement from us either. The next day at the police station no incident had been recorded but they called the ( so called owner of bird bar ).
Perhaps he was the manager as does not match the picture of the people related to this article.
He was not there at the time of the assault but tried to make up a story saying it was out fault, then offered us money and asked what we wanted.
I said i wanted this incident to be reported and to file a report.
Seems the police and bird bar are both as corrupt as each other. With the police protecting them and bird bar protecting the 2 people who attacked us who they knew. They were regulars.
Police did not file any report.

I am sure the owners of bird bar are aware of this incident and i am totally agast how corrupt china can be at times.
Reported the incident to the British Embassy who told me this type of thing goes on in the provences and not much can be done about it.

[UNF]

@Alex A, I pity your situation, but surely you weren't just randomly assaulted? I have never heard of that happening in China - unlike in Australia, the UK and the USA, where it's rather common. Yes, violence can occur here, especially at nightclubs and bars where alcohol plays a major contributing factor, but attacking someone, especially a foreigner is too big a risk for an ordinary Chinese person to take due to the hefty penalties involved.

I have heard about foreigners (in this case, they were Americans from a local university) who were the aggressors in an incident a few months ago in a Kunming bar, probably in the Wenlin Hua or Wenlin Jie area. Basically, they became aggressive and starting attacking the locals, after which 7 security personel ganged up on them and they became bloodied and bruised.

Rarely is there a good reason for such behavior, which ultimately shows stupidity and poor form on the part of the foreigners involved. For my part, I have never ever become aggressive in a club or bar, and consequently, I have never ever been bullied or assaulted. Go figure.

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