Half of the Public Bus North District立体 Parking Lot was Allocated to a Sauna Club: Intern Reporter Dong Jiuyong
Photos taken by intern reporter Dong Jiuyong show the ongoing renovation of the sauna club.
Half for buses, half turned into a sauna
The three-story立体 parking lot in the Public Bus North District, which cost over 90 million yuan to build and is known as the largest立体 parking lot in Kunming, was put into use at the end of 2008. Now, however, the other half of the parking lot has been transformed into over a hundred small rooms. Yesterday, I discovered from the construction plans provided by the workers that the ongoing construction project is a large sauna club featuring facilities such as shower rooms, dry saunas, massage rooms, KTVs, and VIP suites. Relevant personnel from the bus group stated that it is beyond reproach for the group to use its self-invested properties for commercial activities.
"Luxury Parking Lot" Allocates Half to Luxury Sauna Rooms
Yesterday, when I arrived at the Public Bus North District parking lot, I saw a large iron gate installed next to the snack shop within the parking area. Inside the iron gate were bags of cement, and on the exterior walls of the立体 parking lot were scaffolding and protective nets.
From the waiting area of the bus station, following the side staircase of the立体 parking lot up to the second floor, there were more than ten parked buses in the parking lot. In the middle of the car park, a wall had been constructed, with several small rooms already built inside. Some of the walls had signs posted indicating areas for SPA and KTV. On the floor were piles of sand and floor tiles among other decorative materials, while workers were busy installing air conditioning equipment.
Walking through a maze-like arrangement of rooms led me to the unrenovated first-floor hall, where a piece of paper was posted on the wall with the words: Yongchunquan, back rub area, shower room, soaking pool area, dry sauna, wet sauna. Further inside, there were three newly constructed soaking pools each measuring over ten square meters, with adjacent shower rooms still awaiting decoration.
From the construction plans provided by one of the workers, the second floor featured approximately 11 horizontal corridors and 6 vertical corridors. Between these corridors were distributed various rooms including mahjong rooms, guest rooms, massage rooms, VIP suites, SPA rooms, KTV rooms, and spacious sofa lounges. A rough calculation revealed that there were about 100 rooms just on the second floor alone. One Li-surnamed worker introduced that on the third floor, there were also entertainment facilities like snack shops, internet cafes, and gyms. He estimated this could be considered the largest sauna club in Kunming.
Passengers Question Where Buses Will Be Parked if Sauna Rooms are Built
The three-story立体 public bus garage in the north district, which cost over 90 million yuan to build, was put into use on November 24, 2008. The newly built立体 parking lot spans three stories, allowing vehicles to easily enter and exit via circular ramps. The implementation of the north district's立体 bus parking lot resolved issues such as outdoor vehicle parking and security concerns. Currently, the parking lot can accommodate 900 buses, carrying 1.5 million passengers daily, achieving a public transportation share rate of 22%, and is reputed to be the largest立体 bus parking lot in Kunming.
In the bustling waiting area, many passengers were unaware of what was being constructed in the立体 parking lot, assuming it was merely the bus company renovating the exterior walls. "With so much money invested in building such a parking lot, how can it be converted into a sauna?" Mr. Zhang Bing expressed his disbelief upon learning the truth. Another citizen, Mr. Wang Liang, said, "The buses inside are worth hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan. If part of the parking lot is converted into a sauna, and there isn't enough space for the buses, they will have to be parked outdoors, exposed to wind, sun, and rain, causing damage to the vehicles. It's really hard to understand what the people in charge of the parking lot are thinking!"
Parking Lot Has Idle Capacity, So Commercial Use Was Considered
With numerous questions in mind, I asked a female staff member of the first fleet at the north district bus parking lot. She said that converting the parking lot into a sauna for rent was a necessity for the development of tertiary industries by the enterprise. Another unnamed male staff member mentioned that the conversion of the parking lot into a sauna began last year and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. As for whether it had passed planning department approval, he was unclear since it was a decision made by the headquarters. "The company provides free services for 300,000 love cards annually, but the government departments offer very little subsidies that are often delayed. Operating under debt, the company had no choice but to take such measures to earn some money to offset the debts," the staff member explained.
Li Wei, the manager of the Production and Operations Department of Kunming Bus Group, introduced that currently there are 400 buses at the north district bus parking lot. Considering the idle capacity of the parking lot, the group decided to lease part of the立体 parking lot to a sauna company, allowing them to renovate and operate it themselves. He believed that the group’s actions did not alter the functional use of the parking lot. Regarding whether it had undergone planning department approval, Li Wei said, "All the funds invested in this立体 parking lot came from the group. I believe that since the property belongs to the group, using it for commercial activities is beyond reproach."
Is it true, as the staff member claimed, that due to operational difficulties, part of the parking lot was converted for commercial use? Regarding this, Li Wei said that the topic is complex and involves some sensitive issues, making it inconvenient for him to elaborate. Which company rented the parking lot to build the sauna, and what is the annual rent? Li Wei claimed he was unaware.
Reported by our newspaper reporter Luo Cheng