A report on September 20, 2026, has indicated that Xibei, a mainland Chinese restaurant chain that had previously been involved in a controversy over pre-made dishes, has accumulated more than 600 million Chinese yuan in losses within six months. Xibei’s founder, Jia Guolong’s wife, Zhang Liping, has pledged all the Xibei shares she holds, sparking rumors that Xibei is on the brink of a complete shutdown.
On September 19, the topic of “Xibei rumored to be completely shutting down” trended on Weibo. A blogger posted that Xibei is expected to shut down completely within two to three months. Jia Guolong will personally take on the majority of the debt, relinquish his shares, and only retain about 100 profitable stores for employee self-operation to sustain the livelihoods of 3,000 to 4,000 individuals.
In response, Xibei stated that the information was not official and all Xibei stores across the country are currently operating normally.
On September 20, several mainland Chinese media outlets reported on the situation of Xibei outlets nationwide.
According to reports, the Xibei flagship store at Liuliqiao in Beijing continues to operate normally, with the store manager confirming no closure notices have been received. An employee at the Wukesong store mentioned that they had not received any closure notifications, business is still manageable, and speculated on potential future adjustments.
In Shanghai, the Xibei store in Daning, Jing’an District, will close after the “National Day” holiday, with some employees already leaving in advance. This store has not served prepackaged noodles and soup for the past two weeks. Another employee at a different Shanghai store mentioned, “This store was supposed to close today, but the property management company prevented it, delaying it until next month. We’ve been operating at a loss every month, facing significant business pressures.”
Some store employees expressed, “Staff are finding their own jobs as there are no subsidies or compensations for store closures. It’s already a challenge to receive regular pay; previously, salaries were paid on the 10th, but now, they are delayed until the end of the month. Last month’s salary was paid at the end of the month, but this month’s payment has yet to be made.”
The manager of the Xibei store in Grandview Mall, Guangzhou, revealed that the store will cease operations starting from September 28 as part of a strategic corporate adjustment, noting that no other relevant notifications had been received by the store.
An employee at the Xibei store in Wanda, Panyu District in Guangzhou, stated, “Our store lease contract is due in May next year, and currently, we are operating as usual without any closure notice received.”
Amid the wave of closures at Xibei, the decision by Zhang Liping, wife of Xibei founder Jia Guolong, to pledge all her Xibei shares has sparked intense public debate.
Records show that Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group Co., Ltd. recently added a share pledge, with Zhang Liping as the pledgor and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Hohhot Ruyi Development Zone Branch as the pledgee, with a pledge amount of 540,000.5 yuan, in a valid status.
Shareholder information indicates that Zhang Liping holds a 5.1959% stake in Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group Co., Ltd., with a capital contribution of 540,000.5 yuan and serving as a director of the company. Public data reveals that Zhang Liping is the wife of Xibei founder Jia Guolong.
Business records show that Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group Co., Ltd. was established in October 2017, with Jia Guolong as the legal representative and a registered capital of around 104 million yuan. Its business scope includes catering services, food production, online food sales, food sales, catering management, corporate headquarters management, and investment activities using its own funds.
In mid-September 2025, there were allegations by a blogger that Xibei heavily used pre-made dishes. Jia Guolong denied this by stating, “According to national regulations, we do not have any pre-made dishes,” and opened the kitchen afterward to prove their innocence; however, the media captured images of packaged chicken soup, frozen fish, and other pre-made items, confirming Xibei’s extensive use of pre-made dishes.
Following the pre-made dish controversy, Jia Guolong confirmed in January of this year that Xibei would close 102 stores in the first quarter, representing approximately 30% of the national store total at the time, affecting around 4,000 employees. Jia Guolong also disclosed that from September last year to March this year, Xibei’s accumulated losses were expected to exceed 600 million yuan.
As of 2025, Xibei’s official website shows the presence of nearly 400 stores nationwide, covering 62 cities across the country, with approximately 17,000 employees.
Third-party platform data indicates that as of September 19, Xibei has approximately 226 operating stores. Roughly estimated, Xibei has reduced its in-operation stores by at least 174, marking a contraction of 43%.
In a bid to rescue the company, Jia Guolong not only closed down some Xibei stores but also converted some into a new brand called “Tianbian Clay Pot Noodles.” Someone familiar with Xibei disclosed, “Jia Guolong’s primary goal in this action is to keep the company afloat.”
However, by September this year, this new brand that was originally hoped to carry the torch forward also began closing some of its stores. The first store of Tianbian Clay Pot Noodles in Hohhot, the Cuìwěi Impressions City store in Beijing, and the Dōngfāng Road store in Shanghai have already shuttered. For a business that serves clay pot noodles at around 40 to 50 yuan per diner, this implies that it needs higher turnover and sustained foot traffic compared to Xibei to cover the high rent and labor costs – a realization that the attraction of clay pot noodles has not yet achieved.