>Major cities tend to have a bookstore that reflects their identities, and for Shanghai, that was Jifeng Bookstore – now part of the collective memory for those who lived there. At the new D.C. location, the owner displays handwritten cards from people on one of the final days of Jifeng’s Shanghai operations.
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>For Wenxuan Fang, a social media analyst from Virginia, stepping into the bookstore felt like déjà vu—a reminder of his childhood visits to the Shanghai store at the metro station, and a rare chance to find Chinese books in the U.S. He picked up a book on Persian merchants in Southern China and a poetry collection by Ha Jin.
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>“As someone from Taiwan, it’s hard to access books in simplified Chinese, especially on topics like Middle East studies, which are more commonly published in Mainland China. While China keeps publishing, the quality has declined with censorship,” he said.
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>Lei Zhou, a Chinese American who was born and raised in China, spent $300 on books at the store’s opening. For him and his community, “it’s the best of both worlds” because JF Books sells banned Chinese books while also offering access to the latest intellectual works from China, which are rarely marketed abroad.
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>Leaving home and starting a new bookstore from scratch comes with its own challenges. “The hardest part,” Yu said, “is setting up the business. I’m unfamiliar with the laws here, and much of the work requires lawyers and financial experts. Plus, I have to navigate everything in English.”
This is an interesting situation where a bookstore that was so deeply tied with its city, Shanghai, has moved abroad to another cultural millieu, Washington DC. This shift will necessitate a shift in focus as well, and it will be interesting to see what impacts it might have on its new home, and how its new home will also impact its particular trajectory. It looks like at least for now it’s found a form of balance in its new location and community.
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One of the interesting points from this report:
>Major cities tend to have a bookstore that reflects their identities, and for Shanghai, that was Jifeng Bookstore – now part of the collective memory for those who lived there. At the new D.C. location, the owner displays handwritten cards from people on one of the final days of Jifeng’s Shanghai operations.
>
>For Wenxuan Fang, a social media analyst from Virginia, stepping into the bookstore felt like déjà vu—a reminder of his childhood visits to the Shanghai store at the metro station, and a rare chance to find Chinese books in the U.S. He picked up a book on Persian merchants in Southern China and a poetry collection by Ha Jin.
>
>“As someone from Taiwan, it’s hard to access books in simplified Chinese, especially on topics like Middle East studies, which are more commonly published in Mainland China. While China keeps publishing, the quality has declined with censorship,” he said.
>
>Lei Zhou, a Chinese American who was born and raised in China, spent $300 on books at the store’s opening. For him and his community, “it’s the best of both worlds” because JF Books sells banned Chinese books while also offering access to the latest intellectual works from China, which are rarely marketed abroad.
>
>Leaving home and starting a new bookstore from scratch comes with its own challenges. “The hardest part,” Yu said, “is setting up the business. I’m unfamiliar with the laws here, and much of the work requires lawyers and financial experts. Plus, I have to navigate everything in English.”
This is an interesting situation where a bookstore that was so deeply tied with its city, Shanghai, has moved abroad to another cultural millieu, Washington DC. This shift will necessitate a shift in focus as well, and it will be interesting to see what impacts it might have on its new home, and how its new home will also impact its particular trajectory. It looks like at least for now it’s found a form of balance in its new location and community.