Jin Ji Niao sold prepaid cards to two million members, then closed the gyms

金吉鸟 (Jin Ji Niao) started as a Nanjing yoga studio in 2005 and grew into one of China's biggest gym chains: at its peak it ran more than 400 stores in over 40 cities, with a cumulative membership above two million and nearly 10,000 employees, under sub-brands for budget and personal-training gyms.

The growth ran on prepaid cards — members paid a year or more in advance, and that cash funded new stores. The founder planned 1,000 stores, and in 2018 the group bought a rival's 50 directly run gyms in what was called the biggest acquisition in the history of the Chinese gym industry. In 2020, with COVID closing gyms, online promotions pulled in 50 million yuan of fresh prepaid cash.

On May 20, 2021, Nanjing's market regulator summoned the company over excessive prepaid fees; four days later a Shanghai court issued its third consumption-restriction order against the founder. From June to July 2021, stores across Nanjing, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Changsha closed in waves — 'card bought yesterday, store closed today.' Guangzhou's seven stores all shut after a May 31 suspension.

Members found no one to answer: hotline referrals went nowhere, consumer councils suggested lawsuits, and a complaint platform showed 495 grievances with only 12.5% resolved. One Guangzhou store alone owed 13 trainers nearly 500,000 yuan in wages. The chain that had promised to open 1,000 stores was effectively gone, with members' prepaid money and staff wages left behind.