Sanya Mangrove's "Cultural-Tourism Myth" Finally Falls Into Debt Dilemma, 4.5 Billion Yuan in Claims Put on the Block

Ask AI · Zhang Baoquan’s Cultural and Tourism Empire Collapse Reveals Industry Risks

On March 16, according to information disclosed by Alibaba Asset Platform, two major debt asset packages of Sanya Red Forest have been put on the shelf. The auction targets are the claims of Sanya Red Forest Tourism Industry Co., Ltd. and Sanya Red Forest Cultural Tourism Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., totaling three claims amounting to 4.5 billion yuan.

Cinda and Great Wall AMC Put 4.5 Billion Yuan Claims on the Shelf

According to the auction announcement, the three claims listed are: China Great Wall Asset Management Co., Ltd. Hainan Branch’s claim of 2.55934 billion yuan against Sanya Red Forest Tourism Industry Co., Ltd.; China Cinda Hainan Branch’s claim of 1.68053 billion yuan against Sanya Red Forest Cultural Tourism Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.; and a claim of 270.75 million yuan against Sanya Red Forest Tourism Industry Co., Ltd. This disposal is jointly promoted by China Great Wall Asset Management and China Cinda AMC. The targets have entered judicial bankruptcy reorganization procedures. Currently, the Haitang Bay Red Forest Hotel and Yalong Bay Red Forest Hotel under Sanya Red Forest Tourism Industry are operating normally.

The target disposed of by China Great Wall Asset Management Hainan Branch is Sanya Red Forest Tourism Industry Co., Ltd., which has entered bankruptcy reorganization. As of June 13, 2024, the principal debt is 1,795.55 million yuan, interest is 706.38 million yuan, other expenses are 57.40 million yuan, totaling 2,559.34 million yuan. There are already two interested parties registered.

The collateral includes all land use rights and properties of Yalong Bay Red Forest Resort Hotel and Haitang Bay Red Forest Resort Hotel, which have been registered as mortgages. Yalong Bay Red Forest Resort Hotel’s land use area is 99,999.9 square meters, with a building area of 57,477.44 square meters; Haitang Bay Red Forest Resort Hotel has 32 property ownership certificates, with a total land use area of 215,549 square meters and a building area of 221,416.74 square meters. Located in the center of two major bays in Sanya, the collateral is valued at nearly 6 billion yuan, enough to cover the Great Wall assets’ claims.

The announcement states that both hotels are operating normally. Through reorganization, sales revenue can be managed, with a net cash flow of 200 million yuan annually. As remaining rooms at Haitang Bay Hotel are put into operation, operating cash flow will further increase.

China Cinda Hainan Branch plans to dispose of claims against Sanya Red Forest Cultural Tourism Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. As of September 30, 2025, the claim principal is 1,150.92 million yuan, interest is 525.12 million yuan, and advance payments are 4.49 million yuan, totaling 1,680.53 million yuan. The pledged asset is 100% equity of Sanya Red Forest Cultural Tourism Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. Guarantors include JinDian Investment Group Co., Ltd., Beijing Andi Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., Zhang Baoquan, Wang Qiuyang, Zhang Muyuanyuan, and Zhang Muyao. Two interested parties have already registered.

In another claim, China Cinda Hainan Branch intends to dispose of claims against Sanya Red Forest Tourism Industry Co., Ltd. As of September 30, 2025, the claim principal is 191.52 million yuan, interest is 79.23 million yuan, with no advance payments, totaling 270.75 million yuan. The collateral is the operating assets of Sanya Yalong Bay Red Forest Resort Hotel under the company, covering a total area of 99,999.9 square meters (about 150 acres), with a total building area of 57,477.44 square meters, consisting of one eight-story (including underground first floor) and one nine-story (including underground second floor) building. Guarantor is JinDian Investment Group Co., Ltd. Four interested parties have registered.

The recruitment deadlines for these three claims are April 29, 2026; May 5, 2026; and September 6, 2026. The auctioned claims are priced at only 6,470 yuan per square meter of property, compared to last year’s transaction of a Red Tang Bay hotel site in Sanya, which had a floor price of 6,978.5 yuan per square meter.

Collapse of the Cultural and Tourism Empire

Data shows that JinDian Group was founded in 1992 by Zhang Baoquan. It is a diversified enterprise group based on real estate development, aiming at future information industry and culture, with businesses spanning leisure vacations, film, and contemporary art.

Qichacha’s disclosed information indicates that JinDian Investment Group Co., Ltd. was established on May 8, 2022, with a registered capital of 400 million yuan. The legal representative is Zhang Baoquan, and the sole shareholder is Hainan Antai Industrial Development Co., Ltd.

Zhang Baoquan launched the Sanya Red Forest hotel project in 2004, investing approximately 20 billion yuan to create a complex combining art, vacation, and convention functions. An insider who previously worked at JinDian Group told The Paper that the Yalong Bay Red Forest Resort Hotel was profitable as early as 2005, marking the starting point of JinDian’s “Red Forest” cultural tourism projects. At its peak in 2017, annual revenue exceeded 1 billion yuan. In early operations, the scale was small, leverage was low, and cash flow remained healthy. The insider said that the Red Forest hotels benefited from the era’s favorable policies, as high-end resort supply in Sanya was scarce, and under the expectation of an international tourism island policy, tourism consumption in Sanya rapidly upgraded, and hotel operations were good.

However, it is worth noting that the Red Forest system in Sanya is purely asset-heavy, with no property sales, fully self-operated, and cash flow entirely dependent on offline income from hotels, catering, and entertainment, without real estate sales feeding back. This was one of the reasons for subsequent cash flow breakdowns and weak cyclical resilience.

Sources familiar with the matter told The Paper that the pandemic’s impact on vacation traffic, combined with high leverage, heavy assets, and personal unlimited guarantees, collectively led to the group’s cash flow rupture. They believe that if the auction proceeds smoothly, debt restructuring, equity change, and brand upgrading could allow the Red Forest hotels to return to stable operation.

The crisis of the Sanya Red Forest system dates back to 2020.

According to case (2020) Qiong 96 Minchu No. 554, due to a 1.016 billion yuan overdue loan, China CITIC Bank Haikou Branch and China Development Bank Sanya Branch applied to Hainan First Intermediate People’s Court to freeze deposits of related companies and individuals including Zhang Baoquan, Wang Qiuyang, Zhang Muyuanyuan, and Zhang Muyao, totaling 1.05 billion yuan, or seize equivalent assets. After the judgment, the case entered enforcement, with core hotel assets seized and equity frozen.

To resolve the debt crisis, JinDian Group previously sold assets to raise funds and ease cash flow.

In 2019, Qingdao Red Forest project introduced Qingdao State-owned Assets due to financial pressure. On January 28, 2019, the equity structure of Qingdao Red Forest Tourism Co., Ltd. changed, with Beijing Shiji Xinhua Tourism Investment Development Co., Ltd. reducing its stake from 100% to 40%, and Qingdao West Coast Cultural Tourism Group Co., Ltd. acquiring 60%. Subsequently, Qingdao Red Forest Resort World and Qingdao West Coast Tourism Investment Group reached a 5.3 billion yuan equity cooperation.

In fact, the Qingdao Red Forest project’s land transfer included 30% residential and the rest commercial, all saleable independently. But to create the largest vacation destination in the north, the project did not develop real estate or sell properties but built 440,000 square meters of self-operating facilities.

Ultimately, asset sales could not prevent the group’s move toward bankruptcy reorganization.

On June 13, 2024, Sanya Intermediate Court accepted the bankruptcy reorganization of Red Forest Tourism and Red Forest Real Estate; on November 14, 2024, the court ordered substantial merger reorganization of related entities such as project operation companies and cinema management companies, appointing professional administrators to take full control of assets, debts, and operations.