Origin
The prison was originally built to house Kuomintang (Nationalist) war criminals but due to its secrecy, the name was not publicized. Instead, it was simply referred as project #156, since it was number 156 out of 157 projects that China established with Soviet assistance. The head of Beijing Bureau of Public Security, Feng Jiping (S: 冯基平, T: 馮基平, P: Féng Jīpíng) was in charge of construction of the prison. Ironically, during the Cultural Revolution he was among the first to be jailed there. He was also one of the last to get out among those who were sent to the prison with him.
In 1958, high-ranking former Nationalists classified as war criminals by the communists were sent to Qincheng Farm to work, and they had observed the prison in construction. Prisoners were curious because the 5-meter high thick wall and electric fence and asked the guards what building it would be, and the answer was: "Sport Academy." When prisoners questioned why an advanced educational institution such as a sport academy would have such heavy security measures, they were told that it was an advanced sport academy, and everything was learned from the Soviet Union.
Read more about this topic: Qincheng Prison
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