Man spends Rs 1 crore on 300-year gym membership in China, owner flees with cash

The complainant has now turned to the courts and media to recover his losses and warn others. (Image credit: Copilot)

A man in eastern China has filed a lawsuit against a gym after spending over 870,000 yuan (about Rs 1 crore) on memberships and coaching sessions valid for 300 years, only to find that the gym owner has disappeared with his money.

The man, identified as Jin, had been a regular at Ranyan Gym in Hangzhou’s Binjiang District for three years, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. In May, he was offered a promotional deal by a sales executive: buy a one-year membership for 8,888 yuan (about Rs 1 lakh) and resell it to new customers for nearly double the price. Jin was promised a 90 percent share of the markup and a full refund if the cards weren’t sold within two months.

Encouraged by the promised returns, Jin bought two cards and was soon persuaded to invest more. Between May 10 and July 9, he signed 26 contracts, purchasing 1,200 lessons and memberships with a combined validity of 300 years—spending a total of 871,273 yuan (about Rs 1 crore).

On July 15, when the gym was supposed to return part of the principal, Jin received no payment. Staff claimed the finance department was reviewing the transaction. By the end of July, the gym’s management and sales team had vanished.

The gym remains open, but only receptionists and administrative staff are present, Zhejiang TV reported. Jin later discovered that none of the contracts mentioned the promised returns, and all included clauses preventing membership transfers.

“I admit I was brainwashed,” Jin told local media. “I believed I was just one step away from getting all my money back.” He described the investment as a commitment to health, not a literal 300-year plan.

The case has sparked public debate over aggressive sales tactics and a lack of consumer protection in China’s fitness industry. Jin, meanwhile, has turned to the courts and media to recover his losses and warn others.