The founder of a photography museum in China has been taken away by authorities and is currently under investigation, prompting questions about the future of the private institution.
Xie Zilong, founder of Xie Zilong Photography Museum (XPM) in Changsha, the capital and the largest city of Hunan province of China, was detained on July 28. The news emerged after Xie’s company, LBX Pharmacy, posted an announcement on Shanghai Stock Exchange on July 30.
According to the announcement, LBX Pharmacy was notified by Xie’s family that they received a notice from Hunan provincial supervisory committee that he has been detained for investigation. The company notice did not specify why Xie is under investigation, but stated that it had nothing to do with the company’s operation, and the company has not been asked to assist in the investigation. The company added that it does not have any information about the development or conclusion of the incident.
Born in 1966, Xie is an influential figure in China’s pharmaceutical retail sector, according to Chinese media reports. In 2001, he founded LBX Pharmacy, which sells over-the-counter medication at affordable prices to general public. The company went public in 2015 and has been recording substantial increases in profit year-on-year despite the country’s current economic downturn. In 2023, the company recorded a 18.35 percent increase in net profit, amounting to 929 million yuan ($129 million). The growth however has slowed down in 2024, with just 1.81 percent growth rate in the first quarter this year.
After accumulating his wealth, Xie followed his photography dream. He invested 150 million yuan ($22.5 million, according to the historical exchange rate) and founded Xie Zilong Photography Museum in 2017. The museum’s 107,639 sq. foot building was built by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando. It is the largest photography museum in China and is open to the public for free.
While the news about Xie’s detention sparked speculation about the latest wave of China’s anti-corruption persecution, it also prompted questions about the future of the museum. On China’s microblogging site Weibo, the equivalent to X, users asked if the museum was still open to the public.
The museum did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
According to the museum’s website, “The Third Temporarily,” a solo show featuring artist Li Lang and curated by the museum’s academic committee chair Wang Huangsheng, is on view. The show is co-organized with Chengdu gallery A Thousand Plateau Art Space and has extended its run to September 1.