Xi's Purge of Hui Ka Yan: Shocking Truth about 200 Supermodels in Evergrande Dance Troupe

China Insider
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39 Video Views·Feb 25, 2025
On an October day in 2023, a dancer named Baishanshan deleted her entire Weibo account,
an action that quickly gained hundreds of thousands of views.
Baishanshan, now 35 years old, was the winner of the 20th star model competition in Guangdong.
Over the years, she posted numerous selfies on her Weibo,
some showing her in luxurious cars and on opulent yachts.
Even more eye-catching were the images of her inside an apartment
One Shenzhen Bay, located in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.
To call it luxurious is an understatement.
Apartments there start at 70 million yuan, 9.6 million USD,
and the most expensive can reach 2 billion yuan, 275 million USD.
It's a place reserved for China's elite.
But it's not Baishanshan's beauty or flaunting of wealth that captured people's attention.
The real reason is her unique identity.
She is the head of the Evergrande Song and Dance Troupe.
This troupe was established by the Evergrande Real Estate Company,
known for its financial troubles in recent years, to provide performances for the company.
Evergrande first faced a financial crisis in 2021.
From then until 2023, its financial situation worsened significantly,
culminating in Evergrande's bankruptcy announcement in August 2024.
By the end of 2022, the company's debt had ballooned to 2.4 trillion yuan,
305 billion USD.
A staggering figure.
Evergrande was once so wealthy it seemed to surpass nations,
but now its fortune has turned negative.
Hui Keyan, who was once the richest man in China,
has now become the country's largest debtor.
So why would a real estate company like Evergrande create a song and dance troupe?
Could this have been Hui Keyan's secret weapon?
Let's explore this intriguing question in today's video.
The World's Most Unusual Song and Dance Troupe
2011 was a landmark year for Evergrande, marking its rise to fame across China.
In 2010, Evergrande's chairman, Hui Keyan, spent 1 billion yuan, around 137 million USD,
to acquire the Guangzhou Football Club, renaming it Guangzhou Evergrande.
The following year, the team won the national championship,
bringing the Evergrande brand into the hearts of millions of fans.
Excited by this success, Hui Keyan spared no expense,
hosting a grand celebration in November 2011, inviting numerous celebrities to Guangzhou.
Then, a troupe of dancers took the stage,
performing two dances specially choreographed for the football team.
The crowd was mesmerized as the dancers, bathed in soft lighting, moved gracefully.
Flawless skin, long legs, and impeccable dance technique on full display.
This was the public's first introduction to the Evergrande Song and Dance Troupe.
In reality, the Evergrande Song and Dance Troupe was founded in 1999,
just three years after the company began.
However, for more than a decade, its existence was a well-kept secret,
known only to a few Evergrande employees.
Why was the troupe kept out of the public eye for so long?
Could there have been a hidden purpose behind its creation?
It wasn't until January 2011 that the troupe officially registered as a company.
Guangzhou Evergrande National Song and Dance Troupe Co. looted,
with a registered capital of 2 million yuan, around 274,000 all USDs.
By November that same year, they made their official public debut.
From then on, the Evergrande Song and Dance Troupe became a regular feature at major events,
racking up numerous awards.
They won the Outstanding Award at the 7th CCTV Dance Competition
and a Gold Medal at a National Dance Contest organized by the Ministry of Culture.
The troupe even began performing on the world stage.
In 2016, they performed at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou,
and in 2018, they took part in the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Jakarta.
Wherever they performed, the audience responded with resounding applause.
Weikai Yan proudly proclaimed that the Evergrande Song and Dance Troupe
was the face of the company and an essential part of its corporate culture.
At this point, you might be thinking that despite his financial struggles,
Weikai Yan is a man with a deep appreciation for culture.
But wait, what I've shared so far is only the troupe's elegant public-facing image.
What about its other side?
Beyond their graceful performances,
the troupe also became known for showcasing the dancers' striking physiques
with photos and poses that seemed far from traditional art.
For example, in this photo, this one, and this one.
So why were these photos taken at such suggestive angles,
highlighting the dancers' bodies?
Were they performing for the public,
or was this troupe catering to a more exclusive audience?
In 2020, the Evergrande Song and Dance Troupe issued a recruitment notice
with exceptionally strict criteria.
Not only were male and female dancers required to be attractive,
but more importantly, they had to be single
and were forbidden from dating while employed.
The dancers needed to be highly trained,
with the age range for applicants set between 17 and 20 years old.
Female dancers had to be between 170 and 175 centimeters in height,
while males needed to be between 178 and 185 centimeters.
This process resembled model casting,
but the standards were even more demanding.
After passing several rounds of selection,
all finalists had to receive personal approval from Hui Kayan before joining the troupe.
Every dancer was described as having exceptional, almost otherworldly beauty.
While the technical dance skills and physique requirements were expected,
the emphasis on looks and the mandate to remain single raised questions.
Why such strict requirements?
What was the true purpose behind these rules?
The mission of the Evergrande Song and Dance Troupe was indeed unconventional.
Those selected were handsomely compensated,
with the salary divided into five tiers.
Top-tier performers earned 28,000 yuan, around $3,800 USD per month.
First-tier dancers received 16,000 yuan.
Second-tier 14,000 yuan.
Third-tier 12,000 yuan.
And fourth-tier 10,000 yuan.
During the probation period, dancers earned 8,000 yuan per month.
These amounts only represented the base salary.
Dancers also received bonuses for performances
and enjoyed perks such as luxury apartments and expensive cars.
Even the lowest-tier dancers had annual earnings in the hundreds of thousands of yuan,
while top-tier performers earned over 300,000 yuan, $41,000 USD, annually.
Including bonuses, allowances and benefits,
their yearly income exceeded 500,000 yuan, $68,000 USD.
The troupe's leader, Bai Shan Shan,
was rumored to earn an annual income of about 7 million yuan, $960,000 USD.
She enjoyed luxurious transportation
and lived in an exclusive apartment in Wanshenzhen Bay,
a property owned by Huika Yan himself.
In China, for someone in their early 20s to earn such a high income from dancing
was highly enviable,
especially compared to programmers who spend years studying
or office workers enduring the intense 996 work schedule.
However, it's important to note that the troupe didn't make money from performances.
Many of their performances were unpaid.
It's clear that the troupe operated at a loss.
To sustain the troupe,
Huika Yan had to spend at least 20 to 30 million yuan annually.
A savvy businessman like Huika Yan wouldn't usually run a money-losing venture.
So why did he continue to support such an expensive operation?
A new book titled The Evergrande Legend,
decoding billionaire Huika Yan,
has just been released.
Written as a semi-autobiographical novel,
it tells the story of how Huika Yan became one of China's billionaires
through his extraordinary charisma and business acumen.
In 1996, Hui was just an employee at Zhongde Group,
earning a modest salary of 2,000 yuan, about 275 USD per month.
Yet he helped the company generate 2 billion yuan.
After requesting a raise,
his boss refused,
prompting Hui to resign and establish Evergrande,
starting with a team of just eight people.
Amazingly, despite earning only 2,000 yuan per month,
Hui quickly acquired a 110,000 square meter plot of land
on Guangzhou Industrial Avenue
and developed Evergrande's first real estate project,
Jinbi Garden.
Even more impressive,
at that time,
Evergrande could only secure a 3 million yuan loan from the bank.
But Hui skillfully negotiated to borrow 6 million yuan
to invest in a multi-million yuan project.
In just one year,
Hui completed the entire process—
land acquisition, permits, construction, and project completion—
selling out all the units.
Within that first year,
Hui generated 80 million yuan in revenue,
marking Evergrande's first major success.
However,
the book doesn't detail how Hui managed to secure the 6 million yuan loan
or navigate the complex banking and government procedures.
The only conclusion we can draw
is that Hui likely used some kind of secret weapon.
What exactly was this secret weapon?
Hui Kaiyan never revealed it.
However,
there's a small clue.
After making his first significant fortune,
Hui established the Evergrande Song and Dance Troupe in 1999.
The troupe's first leader was Lin Dandan,
but according to her vlogs,
she struggled with communication and was solely passionate about dance.
So she was soon replaced by Baishanshan.
As previously mentioned,
during its first 10 years,
the troupe had no public performances and generated no income.
Yet the troupe seemed like Evergrande's lucky charm.
In the year the troupe was founded,
Evergrande developed 13 real estate projects simultaneously,
quickly positioning itself as one of China's largest developers.
According to internal Evergrande rumors,
Baishanshan was Hui Kaiyan's most trusted aide.
Any project she was involved in succeeded,
and no investor could resist their persuasion.
So what exactly did Baishanshan and others like her do
to help Evergrande overcome obstacles for decades?
This might be one of Hui Kaiyan's top business secrets.
The only thing we see are the results.
In 2014,
Jack Ma invested 1.2 billion yuan,
around 165 million dollars,
in Hui Kaiyan's Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club.
Jack Ma once said,
I don't understand football,
and I'm not interested in it.
So why did he invest in a project he had no interest in or knowledge of?
This move defied his usual business principles.
However, a viral video clip offers a glimpse into the story.
During a grand Evergrande celebration,
employees and guests gathered in a hall to celebrate a major milestone.
Hui Kaiyan invited Jack Ma to sit beside him,
and the two watched a performance by the Evergrande song and dance troupe.
On stage,
Baishanshan danced gracefully in a form-fitting costume,
her movements captivating.
Jack Ma appeared visibly uncomfortable,
nervously rubbing his hands,
while Hui Kaiyan sat beside him, smiling in satisfaction.
After the event,
Baishanshan posted a photo with Jack Ma on her Weibo account,
with the caption,
Gratitude is the foundation of success.
Of course,
we all know how the story ended.
Jack Ma's 1.2 billion yuan investment went up in smoke.
He wasn't the only one.
Zhang Jindong, chairman of Suning Group,
invested nearly 20 billion yuan in Evergrande,
only to lose everything,
contributing to Suning's collapse.
Hypnotizing even financial experts?
In 2009,
Evergrande Group was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Three of China's top credit rating agencies,
including China Chengxin International and Dagang Global,
gave Evergrande their highest rating,
AAA with a stable outlook,
signifying strong debt repayment capabilities.
Yet just three years later,
U.S. firm Muddy Waters, led by Carson Block,
released a report accusing Evergrande of insolvency and accounting fraud.
The once highly rated company was now seen as deeply in debt.
So, which assessment was true?
By May 2015,
international credit agencies like Standard & Poor's and Moody's
downgraded Evergrande to B with a negative outlook.
Chinese media quickly condemned these ratings,
calling them a U.S. attack on Chinese companies.
How did Hui Qian keep the trust of Chinese rating agencies
and continue to present Evergrande as a stable company?
His actions give us some hits.
Starting in 2017,
Hui spent 1.4 billion yuan each year
to rent more than 20 floors in the Zhaojue-Huhai building in Shenzhen
for Evergrande's headquarters.
The building has 42 floors,
with the top one being a private club
offering amazing views of Shenzhen Bay.
The club's interior is said to be very luxurious,
but few details are known
since most employees could only go up to the 40th floor.
Senior executives had access to the 41st floor,
which had a restaurant,
tea rooms,
a gym,
KTV,
and banquet halls.
The 42nd floor was off-limits to almost everyone.
Only Hui, his closest associates,
and top VIP clients like Jack Ma could enter.
Interestingly,
the members of the Evergrande song and dance troupe
could also freely go there.
The troupe was famous for its elegant, traditional performances,
with its female dancers often described as
delicate as frightened swallows.
This was a smart move by Hui,
as many of his key partners were older tycoons
who preferred these refined, graceful performances
over more energetic ones.
People once thought this calm, prosperous period
would last forever,
until 2021,
when Evergrande shocked the world by declaring bankruptcy.
It was only then that the public learned
about the 1.62 million unfinished,
abandoned housing units.
Oddly enough,
despite Evergrande's collapse
and the nationwide condemnation of Hui Kayan,
he did not disband the Evergrande song and dance troupe,
suggesting it held a particularly special place in his eyes.
It wasn't until a year later, in 2022,
that the number of troupe members registered for social insurance
dropped from 78 to zero,
marking the official end of the Evergrande song and dance troupe.
By 2023,
when Hui Kayan was arrested,
Bai Shan Shan, the troupe's leader,
quickly distanced herself from the scandal.
She publicly stated that she was purely a dancer
and had never been involved in any unethical activities,
emphasizing that every penny she earned was legitimate.
What was the true role of the Evergrande song and dance troupe
in Evergrande's rise?
You may have already drawn your own conclusions.
Do you believe Bai Shan Shan's declaration of innocence?
And that wraps up today's story.
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