Not schools for scoundrels

What they say

"As a newly promoted Party official, I learned a lot at the education center. Corruption is an existential threat to the Party, and also affects the country's stability and security. I understand the anti-graft activities of the central and provincial governments."

Ye Meifen, deputy director of the Guangdong Finance Department.

"As Party officials, we have to strengthen the Party's spirit of integrity. We have to be the models for obeying the law. We need to follow every rule to be a clean official, and create an environment of integrity and hard work. That's how we can lead a group."

Wang Shitong, head of the Guangdong Organization Department.

"The point of anti-graft is perseverance."

Wang Zikui, director of the Guangdong Environmental Protection Department.

Getting the message across

A prison stands next to the Beijing Anti-Graft Education Center, its barbed wire and observation towers clearly visible to visitors entering the center. Founded in 2006, the anti-graft facility was one of the first in China.

Its exhibition, which has only one topic, the corruption of officials, is updated every two years. "We have very limited space, so we focus on showing the most important part of the message - what happens to corrupt officials," said Guo Jin, the center's head.

The exhibition relies heavily on a "before and after" motif, depicting the lives of officials prior to conviction for corruption and their subsequent downfall. Footage of people confessing their crimes plays on a loop, while the walls are covered with photos of prisoners. One sections features a luxury watch worth 179,000 yuan ($29,000) given to a corrupt official, alongside photos of the same man behind bars after being sentenced to 10 years in jail.

The character Yu, or "desire", has been hollowed through one of the walls, and looking through it, one sees a full-sized photo of a prison cell.

In a mock-up of a visiting room, where prisoners and their families are separated by a glass wall and converse via telephones, audio of a genuine conversation between a mother and son plays whenever a visitor enters the room.

"I miss you, son, but I'm afraid I won't live long enough to see you released," the mother says, while in the background one can clearly hear the convicted man sobbing softly.

Distorted perceptions

A relief sculpture on the gates of the Guangdong Anti-Graft Education Center depicts the Xie Zhi, a single-horned beast from Chinese mythology, similar to the Western unicorn, that symbolizes the rule of law. Whenever it encounters injustice, the Xie Zhi charges and bites the guilty party.

After passing through a hall featuring Party flags and a droplight shaped like the Sword of Damocles, visitors enter a first-floor exhibition devoted to the history of the fight against corruption that shows how previous generations of officials lived humble lives. A prime exhibit is a photo of Mao Zedong's shoes, their soles almost worn out.

On the second floor, the exhibition concentrates on individual cases of corrupt officials, whose photos or cutouts are kept behind bars. The dim lighting and replica cells create a spooky atmosphere.

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