On November 5, a significant story hit social media, revealing that over 33,500 temples and more than 9,000 Taoist temples across the nation are now facing a comprehensive financial inspection. This announcement has ignited a wave of discussions and concerns among netizens, many of whom believe that the era of “financial freedom” for religious institutions may soon come to an end. Additionally, some users have connected this regulatory scrutiny to the excessive commercialization of certain religious sites.
Public data from various regions, including Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Hebei, indicates that local governments have begun conducting financial audits and special inspections of religious activity venues. The areas under examination include the management of donations, bank accounts, financial disclosures, and overall asset management. Official reports from some regions have revealed troubling findings. These findings suggest that certain religious venues have been mishandling finances, such as depositing income into personal accounts, issuing non-compliant donation receipts, and failing to publicly disclose their income and expenditures, as well as large expenditures not being collectively approved.
On the same day, a prominent Weibo user with 2.474 million followers and known as a commentator and essayist, expressed thoughts on the national financial inspection of temples and Taoist institutions, stating that such scrutiny was overdue.
Another user with 431,000 followers on Weibo, under the name “马上谈” (Ma Shang Tan), pointed out that many temples and Taoist venues have become excessively commercialized. They specifically mentioned the abbot of Shaolin Temple, Shi Yongxin, who has turned the religious site into a profit-driven entity, claiming that stringent audits are necessary for these locations.
Some netizens also speculated that the Chinese government’s financial strain could lead to increased scrutiny of temples and Taoist institutions, suggesting that uncovering financial misconduct could benefit the national treasury significantly.
A WeChat official account titled “法税魏析” (Fa Shui Wei Xi) published an article on November 3, 2026, titled “The Good Days for Temples and Taoist Institutions Are Over! A Nationwide Inspection is Underway.” This article outlined the financial regulatory measures for religious venues in Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Hebei for the years 2025 and 2026.
In July of this year, the Fujian Provincial Ethnic and Religious Affairs Department announced several financial audit and performance management audits for religious organizations and institutions for the fiscal year 2025. This initiative highlights the reach of financial auditing practices extending to provincial religious organizations.
In a report released by the Longyan City Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau in Fujian, it was noted that random inspections were conducted in the first half of 2025 at 35 religious and folk belief sites. The inspection revealed several issues, including non-compliance with guidelines for disclosing income and expenses, improper use of donation receipts, inadequate management of cash expenditures, and poor overall account management.
Furthermore, Longyan plans to conduct financial audits for 19 religious venues in 2026, focusing on their financial activities for the fiscal year 2025, the execution of accounting statements, adherence to financial management regulations, as well as whether past inspection issues have been rectified.
In Jiangxi Province, a specific financial management check was conducted on June 9, 2026, by the Fengxin County Finance Office and local authorities, targeting three religious activity venues in the area.
In Sichuan Province, an audit report from the Guang’an City Auditing Bureau released in November 2025 noted that during the economic responsibility audits of the United Front Work Department heads in six counties, the financial oversight responsibilities of the departments managing religious affairs were also reviewed. The audits revealed further issues, including significant cash payments, undocumented expenses, incomplete accounting documentation, and a lack of formal accounting practices, with involving sums exceeding 1 million yuan.
The article by “法税魏析” mentions that China is home to 33,500 temples and over 9,000 Taoist temples, citing figures from a white paper published by the State Council Information Office in 2018 detailing China’s policies and practices for guaranteeing freedom of religious belief.
The heightened focus on financial oversight in religious institutions stems from concerns regarding rampant commercialization and questionable financial management practices among some religious establishments. A prominent case often referenced in this context is that of former Shaolin Temple abbot Shi Yongxin, who has been accused of prioritizing commercial operations over spiritual ones. He played a major role in establishing various commercial enterprises linked to the temple, including a martial arts troupe and a film production company, purportedly to generate economic profits.
On May 29, 2026, Shi Yongxin was sentenced to 24 years in prison by the Intermediate People’s Court in Xinxiang City, Henan Province. He was found guilty of embezzling over 131 million yuan worth of property from the institution from 2003 to 2025; additionally, he misused over 151 million yuan of institutional funds for personal use between 2012 and 2022, along with charges related to bribery.
Experts on Chinese issues have commented that Shi Yongxin was not only an economic figure but also a political one, holding various positions within the Chinese Buddhist Association and the Henan Provincial Buddhist Association, which are more political and administrative than religious. His activities allegedly enjoyed the protection of several high-ranking officials in the Communist Party.
The French newspaper “Le Monde” has reported that many large temples and nearby famous mountains in China are, in fact, owned by the state. Local governments often establish special companies to manage tourist areas, generating substantial revenue through high ticket prices, leaving the monks—who serve as the “living billboards” for these venues—with a negligible share of income. Shi Yongxin, however, seems to have taken a rather different approach altogether.