China's sex workers can be found in hotels, salons or nightclubs. (Photo : Getty Images)
The 77 suspects are going to be under police custody with will be served with criminal cases. The Beijing nightclub, Baoli, will be closed and hundreds of their employees will be detained with charges of prostitution.
Baoli is a refurbished nightclub and is connected with Tianshang Renjian, which was closed in 2010 because they provided paid escorts.
This is the latest and biggest nightclub closure done by the Beijing government, and the latest effort to crack down the country's underground sex trade.
Another raid was done last May when two people were sentenced to life imprisonment for running a gambling and prostitution ring in Zhengzhou City. Eighty-five employees were also jailed
The nightclub was closed in November 2013 and the authorities reported that there were almost 2,900 sex workers who engaged in prostitution.
State media reported that even corrupt police officers were punished and a total of 8 million yuan in bribes were confiscated.
China's underground sex market was surveyed by the World Health Organization in 2012. The report estimated that there are 20 million sex workers in the country.
The report also indicated that the trade is so huge that sales compose as much as 6 percent to the gross domestic product.
The market is composed of female, male gay and transgender sex workers who stay in nightclubs, saunas, and salons. The WHO expressed concern over the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country because of the growing sex industry.
Guo Ziyang, executive director of Beijing Zouyou Information and Consulting Centre, a non-government organization providing counseling to gay sex workers, said that the sex trade is not a priority for the Communist Party.
He said that crackdown on nightclubs is done because of political reasons, and to fight political rivals than public service.
"The crackdown is a political battle to eliminate enemies in the name of eradicating the sex trade," Guo said.
He added, "We all know such campaigns will never be successful. They've been carried out before, usually ahead of important events such as the Olympic Games and annual party meetings."
