Yayang church, in the Wenzhou area of Zhejiang province, is one of China's unregistered churches that emerged as an alternative to places of worship regulated and approved by Beijing.
China's ruling Communist Party has historically regarded organised religion with suspicion, and under President Xi Jinping, has tightened scrutiny of unofficial groups.
The events in Wenzhou come the same week an underground church in the southwestern city of Chengdu said several of its key leaders had been detained.
"As Beijing tightens its ideological control, unofficial churches are seen as 'disobedient' to the Communist Party ideology and, therefore, pay a heavy price," Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said.
Overseas religious rights groups said the crackdown on the Protestant church in the town of Yayang began in mid-December, with reportedly around 100 members initially detained, and two dozen still in custody.
AFP has been unable to verify those numbers, but two of the small town's residents confirmed people had been detained in December, though they were unable to give specifics.
One local Christian said she thought around 30 people were taken away by police.
AFP saw posters on walls and lampposts, dated to December 13, calling for public help in capturing two prominent church members, complete with mugshots.
The notices said the two men were part of a "criminal gang", "involved in the crime of provoking trouble".
AFP was also able to pinpoint the location of a video posted in mid-December, which showed black-clad police walking in formation towards the direction of the church.
The Chinese foreign ministry and local authorities did not immediately respond to a request for official comment.
- Cross gone -
Wenzhou's significant Christian population was traditionally seen as wealthy and influential.
Before Xi took power, they were able to build their own churches, "even competing with the government-sanctioned churches", said Bob Fu, founder of US-based rights group ChinaAid.
Earlier this week Fu posted footage showing scaffolding going up around the church, including the large red cross on top of its main dome.
ChinaAid said residents had described the streets surrounding the church as being locked down, enforced by a hefty police presence.
When AFP visited on Friday, Yayang church was completely covered in blue cladding, but reporters could clearly make out the silhouette of the main dome -- now missing its cross.
When reporters asked one of the dozen or so guards blocking access to the building what was happening, they declined to comment and told the journalists to move on.
Despite otherwise light security, at one point 12 SWAT officers marched briefly up and down a street near the church.
Two locals told AFP separately they had been told filming the scaffolding was forbidden, and that a woman had been "taken away" for doing so.
In much of Yayang, residents appeared to be going about their business normally, with buildings frequently displaying posters of crosses.
Near the church though, many businesses and residences with crosses on them were shuttered.
- Increased crackdowns -
Churches and rights groups say the campaign against underground churches stepped up last year.
According to Human Rights Watch, in mid-2025, around a dozen people affiliated with northern Shanxi province's Linfen Golden Lampstand Church were convicted for fraud.
Last October the United States condemned the detention of almost 30 leaders of the unregistered Zion Church across seven cities, including in Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang.
Chengdu's Early Rain Covenant Church said this week on its Telegram channel that nine of its members, including senior leaders, had been detained in a "concerted operation", with two others unaccounted for.
Five had now been released, it said.
AFP reached out to the church but did not get a response.
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