A man who ‘cryogenically froze’ his wife in the hopes of curing her lung cancer is coming under fire after finding a new partner years later.
It’s a story that feels straight out of a sci-fi novel or a Batman movie with Mr Freeze. In 2017, 57-year-old Gui Junmin made the decision to cryogenically ‘freeze’ his wife’s body with the hope that, in the future, she could be potentially revived and treated when a cure for her lung cancer had been found.
His wife, Zhan Wenlian, famously became China’s first-ever cryopreserved person. To this day, her body is still being stored in a -196℃ (-320°F) unit labeled ‘Container No. 1’ at the Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute.
Junmin visited his wife’s cryogenic storage tank in September 2025.
The institute, which was founded in 2015, teamed up with Shandong University Chiru Hospital to start an experimental cryopreservation program for humans, offering to freeze early volunteers for free.
When Wenlian was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in April 2017, Junmin made the decision to have her preserved as part of the program.
“When she left, my world collapsed; I didn’t know what to do,” he told news outlets, describing himself as a “dreamer” and “fantasist.”
Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute claims that Wenlian is in “stable” condition, saying her cellular structure has not undergone “any abnormal fluctuations.” However, she has been clinically declared “dead.”
While Junmin’s heartwrenching decision to preserve his wife in hopes of a future cure was equal parts shocking and saddening, he’s now being met with criticism for refusing to ‘wait’ for her resurrection.
Man keeping wife in cryogenic storage says new partner cannot replace her
In November 2025, Chinese news outlets discovered that Junmin had started dating again. Junmin himself confirmed that he has been living with his new girlfriend since 2020.
He explained that he’d stayed single for two years, but suffered from health complications that left him immobile, without any help at home.
Maeil Business Newspaper states that Junmin suffered from a severe gout attack that caused him to collapse. He was discovered two days later after relatives broke down his door out of concern.
“If something really happens when you’re alone, there’s nothing that that person can do. No one can know even if they die at home,” Junmin said.
He later met his current girlfriend, Wang Chun-sha, through an acquaintance, describing her personality as kind and thoughtful like his late wife.
FM93 Zhejiang Traffic Radio 原文網址: 妻子成首位「冷凍人」8年 丈夫已交新女友：仍保留她照片和物品 | 香港01 https://www.hk01.com/article/60292426?utm_source=01articlecopy&utm_medium=referralGui Junmin still keeps photos of his wife up around his home despite living with his new girlfriend.
Despite entering into a relationship with Chun-sha, Junmin says he remains committed to his wife.
“She hasn’t entered my mind yet,” he said of his girlfriend. “I have a responsibility for her, but it’s a complicated matter. She can never replace my wife. I can’t just forget the past, but I still have to live my life.
“I don’t care about her, she can go wherever she wants.”
The situation has sparked a debate on Chinese social media platforms, with one user writing, “Now he is holding one woman in his arms while hoping to reunite with another in 30 years. What is this: emotional polygamy?”
“If that is the case, why start a new relationship? If you do, why not treat your new partner with genuine care? This kind of so-called devotion is not noble; it is selfish,” another remarked.
This isn’t the first strange case of separation to go viral; in October, a Turkish man agreed to pay his ex-wife thousands of dollars in ‘cat support’ as part of the terms of his divorce.
