Celebrity-Backed Children’s Hospital in Beijing Faces Eviction Over Unpaid Rent

The Yanran Angel Children’s Hospital in Beijing’s Wangjing district was established over a decade ago as China’s first private non-profit pediatric hospital, founded by actor Li Yapeng and pop star Faye Wong. Renowned for performing thousands of free surgeries for children with cleft lips and palates, the hospital became a symbol of celebrity-backed philanthropy. Recently, however, visible marks from removed signage and an eviction notice on its entrance underscore the hospital’s looming closure, brought about by nearly 30 million yuan ($4.31 million) in unpaid rent and fees. This crisis has not only forced Li into a public apology but also highlighted the economic fragility of private philanthropic efforts in China’s predominantly state-run healthcare system. Li admitted in a 31-minute social media video that they owe substantial rent and, given current operations, cannot meet these doubled expenses, signaling the potential end of the institution [para. 1][para. 2][para. 3][para. 4].

The hospital’s difficulties reflect broader challenges confronting China’s private healthcare sector, including surging real estate costs, financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and a declining birthrate that constricts the pediatric healthcare market. The trouble began in 2019 when the hospital's initial ten-year lease expired. The new contract imposed a rent increase that essentially doubled the annual cost from about 5 million yuan ($720,000) to approximately 11 million yuan ($1.58 million) after taxes and fees. The landlord defended the increase, asserting that the original rate had been set well below market value as a gesture to support the charity, and the adjustment merely brought it in line with local commercial rates. Li also signed a personal guarantee for the lease, a requirement due to prior payment delays. The hospital’s leadership decided against relocating, given the complexity and cost associated with moving a specialized medical facility, instead hoping to manage higher costs through operations and fundraising [para. 5][para. 6][para. 7][para. 8][para. 9].

However, the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the hospital’s prognosis. In 2019, it served 64,000 outpatient visits and performed over 1,000 surgeries. By 2020, patient numbers dropped to 28,000, drastically reducing revenue. Although the landlord initially offered payment deferrals, debt accumulated, and a Beijing court ordered the hospital to vacate and pay over 26 million yuan ($3.73 million) in back rent and penalties [para. 10].

The hospital’s collapse also exposes problems inherent to the “social enterprise” healthcare model in China. Unlike its affiliated Yanran Angel Fund, which can raise public donations, the hospital lacks a public fundraising license and was designed to be financially self-sustaining by charging wealthy urban patients for general pediatric care and using those profits to fund free surgeries. However, this model has proved unsustainable. Private hospitals face a “double discrimination,” paying higher commercial rates without enjoying state subsidies or access to government research grants, unlike public hospitals. The declining national birthrate further reduces the potential patient pool, compounding financial woes [para. 11][para. 12][para. 13][para. 14][para. 15][para. 16].

Public reaction to the hospital’s plight has been significant. Li’s public appeal prompted over 300,000 donors to contribute more than 20 million yuan ($2.87 million) within days, and Li himself gave 290,000 yuan from livestream sales. While this support has provided a temporary reprieve, with hospital operations continuing and debts being paid, structural challenges persist. Experts note that treating cleft lip and palate patients requires sustained support, rarely feasible through episodic charitable donations. In many developed countries, such care is considered a public healthcare responsibility, unlike the charity-dependent approach seen here. Long-term survival for such hospitals, unless they achieve significant scale, remains uncertain [para. 17][para. 18][para. 19][para. 20][para. 21][para. 22][para. 23][para. 24].