Carrefour, once China’s largest foreign retail chain, shut down its Chuangyijia store in Beijing’s Chaoyang district on Wednesday due a price hike in the lease agreement. The store was Carrefour’s first on the mainland. Photo: Zhang Ruixue/Caixin

Shelves lay empty at the store on Monday. Photo: Zhang Ruixue/Caixin

The discount area on the store’s second floor has been cleared out. Photo: Zhang Ruixue/Caixin

A mannequin is propped up on a beam in the empty store. Photo: Zhang Ruixue/Caixin

Shopping carts overflow with empty display boxes. Photo: Zhang Ruixue/Caixin

Operations have halted at the store’s card sales center on Monday. Photo: Zhang Ruixue/Caixin

A staff member walks through the passageway to the second floor. Photo: Zhang Ruixue/Caixin

Opened in 1995, Carrefour’s Chuangyijia store was considered the first “hypermarket” on the mainland. Photo: Zhang Ruixue/Caixin