Zhangjiakou · Full chronicle and history

On the morning of November 6, lawyer Fan Chen was attending a court hearing at the Zhangjiakou Intermediate People's Court in Hebei Province when the presiding judge, surnamed Zhong, demanded he put away his water cup. Fan Chen questioned the legal basis for this demand and refused to hand over the cup. The presiding judge then called in bailiffs and announced an adjournment, with the date for the resumed hearing to be notified later.

On November 2, Wendao High School in Huailai County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, shut down its cafeteria and suspended operations due to unpaid wages for teachers and cafeteria staff, forcing most students to return home. Many parents went to the school to defend their rights, demanding that students' normal classes be guaranteed and calling for intervention from relevant departments, with only 200 days left until the gaokao.

On September 17, at the entrance of the Huazhang Xuanhua Computing Power Hub Industrial Base in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, multiple migrant workers hung a banner reading "Please pay last year's arrears of migrant workers' wages," publicly demanding their unpaid labor compensation.

On September 3, 2026, The Economist reported that when its reporter traveled to Kangbao County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, to investigate the formaldehyde cabbage incident, they were obstructed on the spot by local police and officials from the propaganda department, who refused to answer any questions.

On September 2, 2026, The Paper reported that one week after the exposure of formaldehyde cabbage in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, sales of Bashang napa cabbage plunged by more than 50% year on year, leaving about 50,000 mu of cabbage facing unsalable difficulties.

On August 25, 2026, The Paper published an on-site investigation report, in which local vegetable farmers in Kangbao, Hebei confirmed that distributors have been using formaldehyde to keep cabbage fresh for several years, saving about 20,000 yuan in costs per truck compared with cold-chain preservation.

On August 22, blogger "Yulie Qige" released an investigation video exposing the loading site in the cabbage production area of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, where workers treated cabbage by dipping it in a formaldehyde solution, triggering public concern over vegetable food safety.

On August 22, 2026, a blogger exposed the use of formaldehyde to keep Chinese cabbages fresh during harvesting and transport in Zhangjiakou, Hebei. Zhangjiakou police seized more than ten barrels of formaldehyde, and market regulators in Fuyang, Anhui subsequently intercepted the vehicle involved, filed a case and sealed it.

On August 22, 2026, the blogger released an investigation video showing workers at a major Chinese cabbage production area in Zhangjiakou, Hebei dipping some cabbages in chemicals before loading them for shipment, with containers suspected of holding formaldehyde solution visible at the scene.

The Japanese government has verified that, as of now, no cabbage containing formaldehyde from Zhangjiakou has been confirmed to have entered the Japanese market.

On August 13, Chinese state media addressed the use of formaldehyde solution to keep cabbages fresh in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, saying the incident has severely eroded public trust and demanding a thorough investigation to the very end.

On August 2, 2026, volunteer Shangguan Zhengyi released a video reporting that an unidentified man had been staying and working at a local scrap recycling station in Zhuolu County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, for as long as 16 years, and called on police to verify his identity and help him find his family.

Foreign media and cybersecurity researchers discovered and disclosed a system called the "Dynamic Control Platform for Foreign Personnel," revealing extensive surveillance data on foreigners and foreign journalists in China collected by local Chinese police.

From July 21, 2026, Qizhen School in Zhangjiakou, Hebei was exposed for forcing senior year students to attend a fully closed summer tutoring program six days a week, sparking student protests over severe lack of rest.

On June 16, 2026, at the project department of China Power Engineering No. 4 Bureau in Shangyi County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, migrant workers went unpaid. The workers went to the construction site and unfurled rights-defense banners demanding payment of the owed wages.

On March 5, Ms. Zhou from Zhangjiakou, Hebei, stated that a Meituan agent demanded her Hunan restaurant offer large discount coupons at the merchant's own expense. After she refused because each order resulted in a loss, the agent replied, "We have plenty of ways to deal with you."

On September 28, 2025, in Hujiatun Village, Wanquan District, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, a village official exploited his position as an agent at a China Construction Bank branch to secretly transfer tens of millions of yuan of villagers’ pension savings into a personal account and absconded with the money, leaving many elderly residents in dire straits.