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source: china news network, compiled from information times and upstream news

evening of august 27

qinhan hutong, a well-known traditional cultural education institution in guangzhou

sudden closure of the store

all its campuses were shut down overnight.

the amount involved may exceed 10 million yuan

currently, the police have intervened in the investigation

it is understood that qinhan hutong was established in 2002. its main business covers a variety of traditional cultural courses such as chinese studies, calligraphy, chinese painting, and guzheng. the brand has 103 campuses across the country, including 8 campuses in guangzhou, serving adults and children.

tianyancha shows that guangzhou qinhan hutong's parent company, guangzhou qinhan hutong education and training co., ltd., was established in 2016 with a registered capital of rmb 1 million and its legal representative is wang shuangqiang. according to 2023 data, it has 156 employees and is an enterprise mainly engaged in education.

multiple campuses suddenly closed

some parents paid tens of thousands of yuan in tuition fees.

on the evening of august 27, parents of the guangzhou campus of qinhan hutong received a notice that the institution had suddenly closed without any prior warning or follow-up arrangements. the news quickly spread on social media.

on the evening of the 27th, many parents reported the situation through channels such as calling the police and the 12345 citizen service hotline. after receiving the call, the police from the xingang street police station immediately rushed to the jinhaiwan campus in qinhan hutong and registered the information of more than 70 parents on the spot. the reporter learned that most of the parents in the campus had already paid tens of thousands of yuan in tuition fees, but the courses had not yet been completed.

at the same time, the qinhan hutong yuehuicheng campus in yuehuicheng, liwan district, also posted a notice of suspension of business outside its door. in order to remind parents to pay attention, the yuehuicheng management office posted a "customer notice" on site, informing parents that teachers were absent from work at the campus and calling on parents to remain vigilant.

shanghai:the company's capital chain is broken

unable to determine refund time

parents in guangzhou and shanghai are also facing similar problems. according to upstream news, wang yu (pseudonym) from shanghai spent 14,300 yuan to sign up for a guzheng course at qinhan hutong in august last year, and currently has 28 hours of lessons to complete. she also paid 800 yuan for the registration fee for the guzheng exam. however, when she applied for a refund, the institution told her that it would take 45 days to process the application, and she was recently informed that the company had problems with its capital chain and could not determine the refund time.

another parent in shanghai, yang juan (pseudonym), also said that her child had studied at qinhan hutong for more than two years, and in may she paid about 24,000 yuan to sign up for pipa lessons, but she recently learned through social media that qinhan hutong employees had not received their wages on time. she suddenly saw a closure notice on the evening of august 26 from a staff member's wechat moments, and learned that the campus had suspended operations.

the qinhan hutong chinese studies website shows that the school focuses on cultural quality education for all ages and defines chinese studies as the knowledge of cultivating the chinese heart. the children's chinese studies business has opened nearly 100 direct-sale stores in major cities such as beijing, shanghai, shenzhen, guangzhou, hangzhou, nanjing, and ningbo, providing more than 30 high-quality courses in three categories: poetry, art, and general knowledge, serving nearly 80,000 offline paying student families.

"the institution suddenly suspended classes when students were unable to complete their courses, which violated the relevant provisions of the consumer protection law of the people's republic of china and the contract law of the people's republic of china, and infringed upon consumers' right to know and right to fair trade." on august 27, tang shixuan, an expert at kant think tank and a lawyer at beijing yingke (shanghai) law firm, told reporters that if the institution and its leaders fail to successfully refund students, they may face administrative penalties, including fines, revocation of business licenses, etc., and may be required to bear civil liability and compensate students for losses as a result.

regarding the issue of unpaid wages for employees, tang shixuan said that if the organization fails to pay employees' wages, it will violate the relevant provisions of the labor law of the people's republic of china. the organization and its responsible persons may face penalties such as being ordered to pay wages, economic compensation, and compensation, and may be subject to administrative penalties.

in fact, similar problems have occurred in some educational institutions before. tang shixuan told reporters that he recommends consumers to keep evidence such as contracts signed with educational institutions, payment receipts, communication records, etc., and first try to negotiate with the educational institutions to resolve the problem, such as requesting a refund, continuing to perform the contract, etc. if the negotiation fails, you can complain to the local consumer association, education department or market supervision department for help. if the above methods cannot solve the problem, consumers can consider safeguarding their rights through legal means, such as suing educational institutions.

"in the process of protecting their rights, consumers should remain calm and rational, and avoid taking extreme actions or words, so as not to affect the effectiveness of the protection," said tang shixuan.