(Sept. 22, 2026) Chinese authorities carried out a two-day operation against an underground house church in central China on Sept. 16-17, confiscating believers’ phones and ordering young Christians to replace hymns with songs praising the Chinese Communist Party, according to multiple sources.

The operations took place in Jinzhai County in western Anhui Province. Police and local officials searched the church’s gathering site and deleted footage of the incident, according to sources confirmed by ChinaAid, granted anonymity for security reasons.

The reported restrictions reflect China’s broader “Chinafiction of religion” policy. Under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the government has tightened political control over religious practices and required religious teachings to align with the ruling party’s ideology.

Two days of raids and interrogations

On Sept. 16, Wang Xianjie, head of the Youfangdian Police Station in Jinzhai County, led about 30 police officers and local officials in a raid on the gathering site, according to ChinaAid’s sources. Several believers had their movements restricted, and some were denied restroom access.

Two female preachers were forcibly taken to the police station for questioning. One of them, Zhang Yuanfeng, had been confined to her home for four days as of Sept. 20, according to information obtained by ChinaAid.

An informed source said one of the women suffered a hand injury while being transported to the police station. A deputy head of the United Front Work Department of the Jinzhai County Party Committee also participated in the questioning that day.

The questioning focused on two relatives of the preachers: Pastor Zhang Yuanlai, who ministers in New Jersey, and Pastor Zhang Huijun, who has served in Jinzhai, Guangzhou and elsewhere. Police repeatedly asked about Zhang Yuanlai’s activities in the United States and his contact information.

On Sept. 17, Liu Qingzheng, a religious affairs official in Gubei Town, led a second operation. Officials encountered several young believers practicing musical instruments for future worship services and prohibited them from performing or singing songs containing “Jesus,” “God” or “Lord,” ChinaAid sources said.

Officials claimed the orders came from a “Central Inspection Team” and were intended to shut down local house church activities. An official also reportedly threatened that the preachers involved would face daily surveillance.

“When government officials begin deciding whom Christians may worship and what they may sing, so-called ‘Chinafication of religion’ has already become a political tool for forcing churches to submit to Communist Party ideology,” said Dr. Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid.

Christian history in the region

Jinzhai County lies in the Dabie Mountains, a former Red Army stronghold known as the “County of Generals.” The area is also home to a network of independent Christian churches whose roots date back more than four decades.

That network traces its origins to Zhang Yongsheng, a preacher who began evangelizing remote mountain villages after becoming a Christian in 1981. Local believers came to call him the “Paul of the Dabie Mountains.”

Zhang established hundreds of underground meeting sites, according to his son, Zhang Yuanlai. He died in a traffic accident in 2014. All five of his children entered ministry, with four daughters continuing his work in China and one son pastoring in the United States.

The area’s Christians have faced previous crackdowns. According to ChinaAid’s records, local officials and armed personnel raided a meeting site in August 1993. One believer was killed while protecting others, while another was stabbed and suffered an eye injury that caused permanent blindness.

Authorities also expelled some students from school or publicly punished them because of their faith, according to those records.

Amid broader restrictions on unregistered churches across China, ChinaAid called on authorities to stop harassing and monitoring believers and their families, investigate the reported use of violence by law enforcement and protect the freedom of religious belief guaranteed by China’s Constitution.

As of publication, the Jinzhai County government and the Youfangdian Police Station had not responded to the reported incident.

Zhang Yunlai contributed to this report. Gao Zhensai is a special correspondent for ChinaAid News. Founded in 2002, ChinaAid is an international Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China through advocacy, legal support, and international awareness campaigns.