China · Beijing · Beijing
Qincheng Prison
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit Qincheng Prison
Step-by-step guidance using the China system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
China's most well-known political prison. Built with Soviet assistance; holds senior officials convicted of corruption and high-profile political prisoners.
Background
The Ministry of Public Security Qincheng Prison (Chinese: 公安部秦城监狱) is a maximum-security prison located in Qincheng Village, Xingshou, Changping District, Beijing in the People's Republic of China. The prison was built in 1958 with aid from the Soviet Union and is the only prison belonging to China's Ministry of Public Security. The Ministry of Justice operates other non-military prisons. Political prisoners have been incarcerated in Qincheng, among them participants in the Chinese democracy movement and Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Famous former inmates include Li Rui, Jiang Qing, Yuan Geng, Bao Tong, Dai Qing, as well as Tibetan figures such as the 10th Panchen Lama Choekyi Gyaltsen and Phuntsok Wangyal.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
—
Current population
—
Occupancy
—
Year opened
1958
Operational
Facility profile
Operator
Ministry of Public Security
Population held
mixed
Opened
1958
Region
Beijing
Security level
Maximum
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
Holds senior officials convicted of corruption and high-profile political prisoners. Conditions reportedly better than ordinary prisons but with strict isolation rules.
Visiting
Highly restricted; family visits typically denied or limited to once monthly for high-profile inmates.
Mailing
Strictly screened; political content censored.
Practical info
Foreign-consular access for non-PRC nationals subject to bilateral practice.
Known issues
No independent international monitoring access. Detentions of dissidents Liu Xia and Bao Tong are documented.
Notable inmates
Bo Xilai, Zhou Yongkang, Sun Zhengcai, Liu Xia (house arrest equivalent regime).
Contact & address
No public contact details available.
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
- Overcrowding
- 0/30
- Oversight reports
- 0/30
- Structural flags
- 5/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 0/10
What the score is responding to:
- · Substantial documented known-issues record
Compared to other facilities in China
975 peersHigher risk than 100% of peer facilities in China.
Data completeness
80%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- Dui Hua Foundation
- Dui Hua Foundation — Dui Hua Foundation
- Human Rights Watch — World Report — Human Rights Watch
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.