Cai Zhenqiang, owner and curator of the Shenzhen-based Long Sheng Museum, hailed as China's largest private museum, has gone missing, leaving more than 10 million yuan of rent unpaid, a local newspaper reported.

Shenzhen-based Long Sheng Museum.[File photo]

The Shenzhen Evening Post reported on Tuesday that the museum, known for its purchase of several precious Chinese antiques from overseas, had been shut down for months.

Cai Zhenqiang has been facing a series of lawsuits and debts since last year.

His Shenzhen Cang Shi Zhai Culture and Arts Investment Inc. has been shut down and a local court ruled on July 11 that the museum has to be moved from its current location, as it had owed 12 million yuan (US$1.8 million) in rent since it opened.

Long Sheng Museum once covered 6,600 square meters and had five exhibition halls of jade, porcelain, bronze wares, calligraphies and oil paintings. There were 300 exhibits in the museum, more than half of which were bought from overseas. The museum got national qualification certification in 2015.

Cai also established an online lending platform in 2013 to provide financial services related to artworks, but due to the capital chain break, the company now owes more than 100 million yuan in debt.

According to public documents, Cai is facing 25 lawsuits in Shenzhen, most of which are related to debt.

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