A northern Chinese province has intensified the crackdown on officials visiting bathhouses, karaoke bars and other places of entertainment during work hours.

Shanxi Province launched the campaign on Aug.20, more than a month before the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday on Sept. 22-24 and Oct. 1-7, respectively.

Among the 296 officials caught, 79 had been sacked or punished, and the rest will face punishments later, according to Shanxi's discipline inspection authority.

A senior county-level policeman who was caught getting a massage in a bathhouse was among those fired, it said.

The Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China ordered its Party officials not to play cards, chess or computer games, or go to teahouses, bathhouses, or karaoke bars for leisure during work hours, or seek benefits from others by taking advantage of their posts. Those who disobey the order will be sacked, it said.

Zhang Xiuping, a discipline inspection official of Shanxi, said the crackdown would continue with a focus on uncovering officials who gamble. Public reports and monitoring were welcomed, she said.