Text | Wu Yingjiao
Liu Hu, whose company provided 90% of the exhibits for the Guizhou Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, and the creator of “state gift” level ethnic handicrafts – Fu Guoyan and her “Qiancuihang” which she painstakingly managed for 37 years, are heading towards a tragic end.
“We strived to be a century-old store and overcame numerous difficulties such as SARS, economic crises, and the pandemic over the past 37 years,” said an old employee of Qiancuihang with a wry smile. “However, the Guizhou Supervisory Commission destroyed it in just a few months.”
Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision. Photo by Wu Yingjiao In November 2024, Fu Guoyan was taken away by staff from the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision while preparing to fly to Hainan for medical treatment at Guiyang Longdongbao Airport. Since then, Fu Guoyan has been detained twice for a total of nine months, yet the commission found nothing. When Fu Guoyan was released, she was emaciated and disoriented. Facing the shutdown of her business, she borrowed money to start over while ill. Just as hope began to emerge, she lost her freedom again in April 2026.
This time, the Public Security Bureau of Cen Gong County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, located 300 kilometers east of Guiyang, took her into residential surveillance under suspicion of “gathering a crowd for promiscuous activities.” Police showed the lawyer a letter with the seal of the Tenth Supervision Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, which stated, “Due to the special nature of the case, family members and lawyers are not allowed to visit.”
01
From a Batik Workshop to a “State Gift” Brand
Fu Guoyan was born in Anshun, Guizhou, a place renowned as the “Hometown of Batik.” Anshun batik is also hailed as “the First Dye of the Orient.”
After Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty implemented the policy of “moving the north to fill the south,” the political, military, and economic and cultural exchanges between the Anshun region and the Central Plains intensified. A large number of ethnic minorities migrated to the area, bringing their batik techniques. Through long-term integration and development, these techniques gradually formed an artistic style with local characteristics.
Among the batik workshops and factories opened in Anshun market towns, the Shuai, Fu, and Tan families were the largest. The Fu family was Fu Guoyan’s ancestor.
In 1988, Fu Guoyan resigned from her enviable position as a salesperson at the Overseas Chinese Friendship Company. She rented a house in Xiaohe, Guiyang, and founded a small batik workshop, where she began creating batik paintings and clothing, and attempted to sell them in local and national department stores.
Fu Guoyan before her arrest. Provided by the interviewee
In 1990, the Beijing Asian Games were held. Amidst the “Chinese style” trend, ethnic clothing gradually gained popularity among young people. On the streets, more and more people in Guiyang began wearing ethnic clothing, and batik batwing shirts and tie-dye dresses became fashionable items.
Astutely capturing the market changes, Fu Guoyan partnered with friends to establish the Liquean Batik Clothing Factory, the predecessor of Qiancuihang. Fu Guoyan once stated in a media interview, “At the peak of our business, we had counters in all major department stores in Guiyang.”
In 1993, Fu Guoyan opened her first batik clothing store in Guiyang. As consumer demand expanded, she began to offer other characteristic ethnic products from Guizhou, such as embroidery, hand-woven cloth, and silver jewelry.
In 1996, Fu Guoyan officially founded Qiancuihang. At that time, Qiancuihang had only a dozen workers, more than ten sewing machines, and a large dye vat, cramped in a simple factory building in the Xiaohe District of Guiyang.
Subsequently, through honest business practices and long-term accumulation, Qiancuihang gradually evolved from a “front shop, back factory” small store into one of Guizhou’s most comprehensive ethnic tourism product enterprises, with products covering batik, embroidery, hand-woven cloth, silver jewelry, and other fields.
At its peak, Qiancuihang operated a 3,000-square-meter superstore on Ruijin North Road in Guiyang, with over 10 branches and online flagship stores on platforms like JD.com.
More than ten ethnic handicraft products developed by Qiancuihang were presented as “state gifts” to prominent figures such as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and received recognition from leaders like Wang Qishan and Yu Zhengsheng. The company also hosted visits and purchases by national leaders multiple times, becoming an important window for domestic and international visitors to understand Guizhou’s ethnic culture. At the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, Qiancuihang provided over 90% of the exhibits for the Guizhou Pavilion.
Core employees of Qiancuihang stated that for 37 years, Fu Guoyan had never ventured into resource-based projects such as mining or land development, nor had she profited from rent-seeking through resources and power. Instead, she remained committed to the path of folk art and handicrafts, which is slow to develop, complex in craftsmanship, and has thin profit margins, attempting to achieve scaled development of the most difficult-to-standardize traditional handicrafts.
“We went deep into Miao villages to train women in handicraft skills. The number of embroiderers we collaborated with ranged from 2,000 to 20,000. We always paid in cash upon receiving goods and never issued IOUs to the embroiderers.”
According to employees, Qiancuihang’s development has driven over 600 upstream small and micro enterprises and handicraft workshops. Over the past 37 years, there have been almost zero complaints, and over 53.3 million yuan has been paid for handmade products from farmers and artisans. Ban, an employee with over 30 years of service, said, “Working at Qiancuihang was very reassuring; salaries were never late.”
Throughout its journey, Qiancuihang received numerous honors, including “Caring Enterprise” awarded by a Vice Premier of the State Council, National Women’s Poverty Alleviation Enterprise, Specialized, Refined, Unique, and New Small and Medium Enterprise, Guizhou Province’s First Batch of Industrial Brand Cultivation Enterprises, Guizhou Province’s Oldest Brand, and multiple years as a National Contract-Abiding and Trustworthy Enterprise. In 2019, Fu Guoyan was recognized as a “National Model Individual for Ethnic Unity and Progress” by the State Council.
“Qiancuihang is no longer just the name of a company; it is an important link in the entire ethnic handicraft industry in Southwest China. It holds significant importance for targeted poverty alleviation in ethnic minority areas, enabling rural women to start businesses and increase income, promoting the inheritance and protection of ethnic culture, and fostering the healthy development of China’s traditional ethnic handicraft industry.”
02
Detained for Nine Months, a 37-Year-Old Brand Comes to a Standstill
On November 25, 2024, Fu Guoyan was taken away by staff from the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision while going through security at Guiyang Longdongbao Airport. Prior to this, Fu Guoyan had been diagnosed with a liver tumor and myocardial infarction. She had previously fainted at work and, after making simple arrangements for company affairs, planned to go to Hainan, a warmer climate, for winter recuperation.
Faced with this sudden turn of events, a young female employee accompanying her was lost and helpless at the airport, crying as she called Fu Guoyan’s family. Two days later, the family received a “Notice of Detention” served in the name of the Luodian County Supervisory Commission of Guizhou. However, no specific reason for the detention was provided. When the family and employees repeatedly inquired, the case handlers cited “case confidentiality” as the reason for their response.
After Fu Guoyan was detained, Qiancuihang’s production and operation essentially came to a halt. Core employees stated that Qiancuihang’s operating revenue had remained around 6-10 million yuan annually since 2020, but by the first half of 2025, it had only generated 440,000 yuan in revenue, with an average monthly income of 70,000 yuan, which was insufficient to cover the company’s fixed operating expenses.
Some products of Qiancuihang. Provided by the interviewee
“According to the ‘Supervision Law,’ the detention period shall not exceed 6 months. During these 6 months, no employee resigned; everyone stayed at their posts, working hard to maintain the company’s operations.” It is reported that all employees voluntarily reduced their salaries to alleviate the company’s burden, hoping that Fu Guoyan would return after her detention and the company could resume normal operations.
On May 26, 2025, Fu Guoyan’s detention reached the 6-month maximum. She was supposed to be released and sent home. However, instead of the long-awaited “Notice of Release from Detention,” the family and employees received a second “Notice of Detention.” This time, the “case-handling authority” changed from the Luodian County Supervisory Commission to the Xifeng County Supervisory Commission, but the location remained the detention facility of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision.
Fu Guoyan’s family inquired with the Tenth Supervision Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision. Case handlers told them that the second detention was a “seamless transition” and that if they didn’t comply, they would continue to be held. “They forced Fu Guoyan to admit to hiding 9 million yuan in criminal proceeds for a certain leader.”
When Qiancuihang employees asked why Fu Guoyan was detained again in violation of the “Supervision Law,” Wei Zhen of the Tenth Supervision Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision replied, “If you think it’s unreasonable, complain wherever you want to complain.”
The employees then stated that the company could not sustain itself and was on the verge of collapse, asking him to report to his superiors. Wei Zhen loudly rebuked them at the Qiancuihang store: “Fu Guoyan is under investigation by the Disciplinary Commission; your company’s fate is none of our concern!”
The second detention and the attitude of the case handlers made the employees feel that the company had no hope and became the last straw that broke Qiancuihang.
In June 2025, after 7 consecutive months of severe operating losses, Qiancuihang was unable to continue paying employee salaries, rent, utilities, and orders for embroiderers. During this period, farmers repeatedly came to demand payment, making it difficult for the company to maintain normal operations.
After negotiations between Fu Guoyan’s son (also a company shareholder) and the employees, Qiancuihang finally decided to close down and began the process of winding up: terminating the lease of the 2,000-square-meter old store that had been used for over 20 years, packing and organizing inventory (some of which was donated free of charge to public welfare organizations in other provinces), settling supplier payments, and providing severance pay to each employee before their dismissal.
Many employees voluntarily offered to accept less severance pay, hoping to leave some funds for Fu Guoyan, as they believed she would still need them for living expenses upon her return.
Late at night on July 29, 2025, the Qiancuihang store was empty. Several movers began dismantling the store’s sign – the sign was made from the old wooden door of Qiancuihang’s first store and had accompanied the company for over 30 years. Seeing the sign being taken down, the old employees could no longer control their emotions and hugged each other, weeping.
“Subsequently, the Qiancuihang WeChat official account published an announcement of the company’s closure. Overnight, the article received over 20,000 views, with almost all comments expressing regret and solidarity with Fu Guoyan.” A core employee stated that a few days later, Xia Wei, then deputy director of the Tenth Supervision Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision and head of Fu Guoyan’s case team, found company employees and demanded the deletion of the announcement and related online remarks about the company’s closure, stating: “Don’t think you can get away with posting these things; I can still deal with you.”
On August 25, after Fu Guoyan had been detained for 9 months, company employees received a call from the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, notifying them to pick her up at the detention center. Fu Guoyan’s family, company employees, and friends, more than ten people in total, rushed to the scene. More than two hours later, Fu Guoyan emerged from the detention center, accompanied by Wei Zhen and two other staff members from the Disciplinary Commission.
Upon seeing Fu Guoyan, those present could not contain their grief: Fu Guoyan, who was 160 cm tall, had shrunk to just over 35 kilograms. Her hair was gray and sparse, she was disoriented, spoke indistinctly, and even needed to be supported to walk.
Fu Guoyan subjected to two detentions. Provided by the interviewee
Fu Guoyan claimed that she was subjected to brutal torture and interrogation during her detention, suffering severe physical and mental harm. After leaving the detention center, her health continued to deteriorate, experiencing prolonged rectal bleeding, a symptom that had persisted for nearly a month during her detention. Due to extreme physical weakness and heart problems, she could not undergo gastrointestinal endoscopy immediately and had to return home to recuperate first.
Despite this, Fu Guoyan was determined to restart Qiancuihang. Those around her advised her to postpone resuming operations, but she stated that she could not let go of her decades of hard work or the employees who had been with the company for many years. She then borrowed money from friends and relatives while ill. Due to the company’s severe losses over the past year, obtaining loans was difficult. Ultimately, she mortgaged her personal property and obtained a loan of over 1 million yuan from the Agricultural Bank of China for the company’s reconstruction.
Fu Guoyan leased a new store and recalled more than ten old employees. They shuttled between the new store under renovation, workshops, and warehouses. Without an office, they temporarily worked on cement bags in unfinished rooms; to save costs, simple renovation tasks like painting were also done by employees.
Employees lamented that even after experiencing financial crises and the pandemic, Qiancuihang had never been as difficult as it was now. However, they still held onto hope because “as long as Fu Guoyan is here, Qiancuihang has hope.”
On April 17, 2026, the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision website published a notice stating that Xia Wei was under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.
Fu Guoyan’s family stated that during her detention, Xia Wei had repeatedly threatened Fu Guoyan, saying that if she did not confess and accept punishment, her family members would also be detained. Under pressure, Fu Guoyan eventually confessed to things she had not done against her will.
“After the news of Xia Wei’s investigation was announced, many people inside and outside the province paid attention. Many initially thought that with this storm passing, Fu Guoyan could finally emerge from the shadows and Qiancuihang could resume operations.”
03
Arrested Again, Falsely Accused of “Gathering a Crowd for Promiscuous Activities”
However, new developments occurred again.
On April 21, 2026, four days after Xia Wei’s “official announcement” of his downfall, Wei Zhen from the Tenth Supervision Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision telephoned Fu Guoyan, asking her to cooperate with the investigation and provide supplementary testimony. At this time, Qiancuihang’s new store was in the critical stage of preparation for reopening.
Fu Guoyan went, but unexpectedly lost contact with the outside world again. The next day, Fu Guoyan’s family received a “Notice of Residential Surveillance” issued by the Public Security Bureau of Cen Gong County, Qiandongnan Prefecture. The notice indicated that Fu Guoyan was placed under residential surveillance on suspicion of “gathering a crowd for promiscuous activities.”
The family noticed several suspicious points in the notice: it did not specify the location of the surveillance, provide the contact information of the case handlers, or even have the correct date – Fu Guoyan was actually taken into residential surveillance on April 22, but the notice date was January 8.
Family members and employees stated that Qiancuihang and Fu Guoyan had never conducted business in Cen Gong County before, nor had any personal connections there. Fu Guoyan herself had never even visited this remote county.
Regarding this charge, Fu Guoyan’s family, employees, friends, and even some customers expressed shock. Some employees stated that they had worked closely with Fu Guoyan for many years and were well aware of her character, calling the accusation “unbelievable.”
Even more puzzling is the discrepancy in who led this residential surveillance measure, with the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision and the Cen Gong police offering different accounts. Fu Guoyan’s relatives immediately inquired with the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision and were told: “This is not a disciplinary commission case; it has nothing to do with the disciplinary commission. The Public Security Bureau arrested her on their own.”
Subsequently, company employees and lawyers went to the Cen Gong County Public Security Bureau to understand the situation. However, the police stated that the case was led by the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, and they were merely executing orders.
When the lawyer inquired about the evidence for the “gathering a crowd for promiscuous activities” charge, they were told that a confidentiality agreement had been signed and specific details could not be disclosed. They also stated that there were no specific case handlers, only a “liaison.”
The lawyer requested to meet Fu Guoyan, but was refused by the “liaison” from the Cen Gong County Public Security Bureau. The liaison stated that the Disciplinary Commission did not permit lawyer visits and showed the lawyer a letter with the seal of the Tenth Supervision Office of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, which stated that due to the “special nature of the case,” lawyer and family visits were not allowed.
Subsequently, the defense lawyer filed a complaint with the relevant authorities. The Cen Gong County Public Security Bureau presented the lawyer with a handwritten “Statement of Voluntary Termination of Attorney-Client Relationship” by Fu Guoyan. The main content of this statement included:
1. Terminating the retainer of this lawyer, refusing the lawyer’s involvement in the case, and no longer hiring this lawyer as a defense counsel during the investigation, review, prosecution, and trial stages;
2. Refusing the lawyer’s visits and not agreeing to the lawyer’s review or copying of case file materials;
3. Defending oneself and not hiring a lawyer for defense.
Fu Guoyan’s family and lawyer believe that the numerous legal professional terms in the statement could not have been independently completed by a non-legal professional and do not represent Fu Guoyan’s true intentions.
On June 1, after more than 50 days of Fu Guoyan’s residential surveillance, three police officers from Cen Gong County Public Security Bureau came to Guiyang and asked company employees, including Zhang, to retrieve the company’s financial statements. Zhang and other employees expressed confusion, believing that if the investigation was for “gathering a crowd for promiscuous activities,” why would they need to retrieve company financial statements?
The police responded that they were currently investigating “concealment of criminal proceeds” and were no longer investigating “gathering a crowd for promiscuous activities.” Employees questioned this, asking if it could be interpreted as “arresting first and then finding evidence.” The other party did not respond directly.
Li Aijun, the appointed lawyer for Qiancuihang from Beijing Zhongxun Law Firm, believes that Xia Wei and Wei Zhen of the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, by exceeding the detention period for an entrepreneur, are suspected of violating Article 43 of the “Supervision Law.” He also believes that the Cen Gong County Public Security Bureau’s extraterritorial residential surveillance of Fu Guoyan, despite her having a fixed residence in Guiyang and never having been to Cen Gong County, does not comply with legal provisions.
Furthermore, the family and lawyer believe that the relevant parties’ obstruction of lawyer visits violates the provisions of criminal procedure law and the “Regulations on the Application and Supervision of Residential Surveillance in Designated Residences” jointly issued by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security in 2025.
Regarding the suspected manipulation by Wei Zhen of the Disciplinary Commission and Supervision staff to have the Public Security Bureau of Cen Gong County implement residential surveillance on Fu Guoyan, as well as the Cen Gong County Public Security Bureau’s complicity in the detention and restriction of lawyer visits, the company and lawyer have filed complaints with relevant supervisory authorities in Guizhou. However, these supervisory authorities have either delayed their response or not replied.
04
Cen Gong County Public Security Bureau. Photo by Wu Yingjiao
Lawyer Han stated that when he called staff at the Cen Gong County Procuratorate, he was told that they would not supervise the matter because “there are regulations that the disciplinary commission’s cases are not supervised,” but he did not explain “who made these regulations.”
The Crime Remains Unknown to This Day
After being placed under residential surveillance, Fu Guoyan was nominally detained at the Cen Gong County Detention Center (her family does not know where she is). To this day, there is no news, and her crime remains unknown. According to the company, Qiancuihang has currently suspended operations and production, the renovation of the new store has stopped, employees have been dispersed again, and the online store has also been closed.
Qiancuihang’s store was an important window for domestic and international tourists to understand Guizhou culture and purchase characteristic Guizhou products. It hosted important guests such as the First Lady of Kenya, the French Minister of Culture and Tourism, and delegations of ambassadors from countries like the United States and India. Qiancuihang also collaborated with large commercial institutions such as Hong Kong Yu Hua Guo Huo and Beijing Wangfujing Department Store, selling ethnic handicraft products from Guizhou’s mountainous regions to all parts of the country and even overseas markets, making significant contributions to “bringing Guizhou goods to the outside world.”
“In Guizhou’s cultural and tourism industry, Qiancuihang is almost synonymous with integrity and credibility. This is inseparable from its founder and core figure, Fu Guoyan.” Employees say that Fu Guoyan’s good deeds were rarely publicized. The outside world only learned sporadically that she had sponsored several impoverished students to complete their studies, participated in the “One Lamp” student aid public welfare project, donated batches of thermal cups and sun umbrellas to sanitation workers, and donated to the “Vigilance and Courage Fund.”
At the same time, Qiancuihang also established a small charity fund internally to help employees facing financial difficulties, illness, or unexpected events.
This ethnic brand, grown in Guizhou, has thus been pushed to a dead end. In its closure announcement, Qiancuihang wrote: “We once strived to be a century-old store, but in a business environment lacking contractual spirit and integrity, we have lost the confidence and ability to continue operating…”
The collapse of this old brand of ethnic handicrafts means the loss of not only the employees in the offices but also the embroiderers in the mountains, the handicraft workshops that rely on orders for survival, and numerous small and medium-sized suppliers. The fate of Qiancuihang carries the livelihoods and hopes of many ordinary people.
Scenes of lawyer Li Aijun assisting Fu Guoyan in collecting semi-finished handicraft products from embroiderers in the countryside and training farmers. Provided by the interviewee
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