The “dark room” the Yuzhang Academy used to force new students to stay in during their first week. The reform school was closed in 2017 after victims reported that it used confinement, physical abuse and hard labor to instill obedience. Photo: Yang Yifan/Caixin

Students eat in the school’s dining area in February 2014. The school opened in Nanchang, East China’s Jiangxi province, in May 2013. Photo: VCG

A mother cries while recounting how her child changed after entering the school during a school meeting in November 2017. Photo: Yang Yifan/Caixin

Zhou Nan (pseudonym) was confined in the school’s “dark room” for a week during his more than two-month stay. Photo: Yang Yifan/Caixin

In July 2020, four of the school’s five executives, including the school’s principal Ren Weiqiang, were sentenced to up to two years and ten months in prison by Qingshanhu District People’s Court of Nanchang for the illegal detention of more than 240 students. Photo: Yang Yifan/Caixin

A wooden ruler used to hit students on the hand in ancient China was on display at the school. The case was sent back by Nanchang Intermediate People’s Court in December 2020 for retrial due to “unclear case details.” The previous court’s decision denied compensation for victims’ mental trauma. Photo: Yang Yifan/Caixin

The school’s investors touted it as a Confucian-style school that could eliminate students’ bad habits, including internet addiction, through “morality training programs.” Photo: VCG

A statue of Confucius stands inside the school. Photo: Yang Yifan/Caixin

The former site of Yuzhang Academy was turned into the campus for a fine art school in November 2019. The case was handed to Anyuan District People’s Court in Pingxiang city, Jiangxi province, in March 2021. Photo: IC Photo

A retrial of the case opens Friday at the Anyuan District People’s Court. Five defendants, who were accused of illegal detention and using physical abuse on students, pleaded guilty, and accepted their punishment and made apologies in court. Photo: Courtesy of Anyuan District People’s Court