On April 23, the 3rd National Reading Conference opened in Kunming, Yunnan Province.
Reading has enriched the spiritual life of generations of Chinese.
From a bookstore in Northeast China in 1948 to today's "fusion bookstore" with its own characteristics, this set of photos broadcast by Xinhua News Agency today vividly records the changes of physical bookstores over the past decades.
This is the story of the book, the story of the people, the story of the times.
How long has it been since you visited a bookstore? Open this "Time Album" and find your spiritual home.
Xinhua Vision: Time Album丨In the national reading boom, look at the changes in bookstores in Chinese →
A bookstore is more than just a place to buy books
It is also a place for the soul to dwell
Chinese love to visit bookstores
Born from a thirst for knowledge
Whenever you step into that sea of books
The soul is deeply nourished
People seek and discover in bookstores
The spark of wisdom carried in books
After the liberation of Shenyang in 1948, the readers of the Northeast Bookstore.
Russian Books Department of Wangfujing International Bookstore, Beijing, 1956.
In 1957, the Young Pioneers of Changchun Experimental Primary School took the initiative to work as temporary waiters in the sales department of Xinhua Bookstore, helping the bookstore to solve the difficulty of having many book buyers and few waiters on Sundays.
In 1959, Chengnan Primary School in Yixing County, Jiangsu Province launched the Red Scarf Reading Month activity, and the school set up a small red scarf bookstore to allow students to purchase books independently. This small bookstore was very popular with children, and in three days sold 456 books, including "My Family" and "Red Boy".
In 1965, the staff of Xinhua Bookstore in Gai County, Liaoning Province (left) sent books to the countryside and sold them locally at the production site.
In 1964, in front of the record counter of the Shanghai Music Bookstore, there was a crowd of people buying song records.
Photographed in 1980, this Guangzhou antique bookstore sells thread-bound ancient books, newly printed ancient books, cultural relics, archaeological books, as well as authentic calligraphy and paintings of ancient, modern and modern celebrities, as well as rubbings of inscriptions, etc., which are popular with readers at home and abroad.
In 1983, Liu Yingquan (left), a self-employed entrepreneur in Chengdu, recommended a book on popular economic theory to Liao Jinrong (right), manager of Zhiquan Department Store in Chengdu. Liu Yingquan runs a second-hand bookstore and is enthusiastic about purchasing, requisitioning and consigning books for readers.
In 1983, the staff of Xinhua Bookstore in Lingxian County, Shandong Province actively distributed agricultural science and technology books, and in addition to setting up stalls in the market, they also sent special personnel to send books to the countryside on a regular basis.
In March 1983, Beijing Xinhua Bookstore set up a readers' reception station on Wangfujing Street, where the managers of more than a dozen bookstores directly listened to the opinions of the masses on the work of book distribution. Readers can ask questions in person or order books.
The tide of the Internet and globalization is surging
Bookstores are also quietly changing
Between the beating bits and the flowing currents
Bookstores are tenaciously exploring
Strive to provide the ink fragrance of paper books
In August 1996, Hangzhou Science and Technology Bookstore adopted the "In-store Book Sales Computer Management System" to facilitate readers to find the books they need and understand the number and price of various books.
In 2001, books and lectures on the WTO became a hot topic in Guizhou, and the picture shows several college students shopping for books in front of the WTO counter in the Sisyphean Bookstore in Guiyang City.
On January 1, 2002, many Beijing citizens took advantage of the holiday to go to Beijing Xidan Book Building to "recharge".
On January 1, 2002, many Beijing citizens took advantage of the holiday to go to Xidan Book Building to "recharge".
On February 14, 2002, Taiyuan Erya Bookstore moved its book counter to the front of the Taiyuan Cinema to sell the novel of the same name and other similar books while the audience who had just seen the Harry Potter movie was still in the mood.
On June 6, 2003, the Federation Store of Fuzhou Xinhua Bookstore was "fully equipped" to welcome customers. The store is the first bookstore in Fujian Province to adopt the form of "shop in shop" operation, which divides more than a dozen different categories of books such as culture and education, electronics, children's and literature into multiple small shops, changing the defects of the "hodgepodge" of the previous comprehensive business model, so that customers can quickly find the books they need to buy.
On February 2, 2003, readers took advantage of the Spring Festival holiday to read books in the leisure area of Tianjin Book Building.
On December 10, 2003, a reader read a book at the Wansheng Book Garden in Beijing. He has been in Beijing for two years, works in a small restaurant, he likes literature, and often comes here to read books, and he reads for most of the day.
Recently
Many bookstores are open at night
Whenever night falls
The charm of the sea of books
Appeals to inquisitive readers
Come here and enjoy a night of reading
On the evening of April 18, 2014, Beijing Sanlian Taofen Bookstore officially opened 24 hours a day, and people sat on the stairs leading to the basement floor to read. This staircase, and the reader who sits on it and immerses himself in the book, is one of the bookshop's signature sights.
On July 18, 2014, citizens read and relax in the 24-hour bookstore "Mingyue Island" in Qingdao Xinhua Bookstore Book City, Shandong Province.
The traditional profit model of a brick-and-mortar bookstore
It is suffering from the great impact of the trend of the times
And batches of high-quality, high-value ones
Specialty bookstores, community bookstores
But they are popping up everywhere
Born against the trend
It shows strong development potential
They're no longer just reading spaces
It is also a new cultural landmark in urban and rural areas
On April 20, 2017, readers read books at Hangzhou Xiaofeng Bookstore.
On July 20, 2015, China Bookstore Beijing Yanyi Lou 24-hour store officially opened to welcome customers. Founded in 1420, the Di'anmen Yanyi Tower is a famous landscape on the central axis of Beijing, located on the east and west sides of the south of the Di'anmen crossroads.
On February 8, 2019, in Chongqing Zhongshuge Bookstore, book lovers experienced the design of the "magic" bookstore and bought their favorite books at the same time.
On December 3, 2019, citizens read books in a bookstore converted from an old warehouse in Luoyang Tianxin Cultural and Creative Industrial Park. Tianxin Cultural and Creative Industrial Park is located in the old town of Luoyang City, formerly known as Luoyang Construction Machinery Factory of SINOMACH.
Models show off their fashion during a fashion show at the PAGEONE bookstore in Beijing on May 7, 2020.
On September 29, 2022, on Xinhua Road in Shanghai's Changning District, citizens photographed the one-square-meter micro-bookstore "Xinhua Road Bookstore", which was rearranged from an idle phone booth.
Tourists rest at a bookstore in Chenjiapu Village on January 30, 2024. Chenjiapu Village, Sidu Township, Songyang County, Zhejiang Province, is a traditional village hidden deep in the mountains. In recent years, the village has taken the protection and development of traditional village features and the repair and utilization of traditional houses as the fulcrum, and introduced boutique bookstores, homestays and other projects, and has become a village with integrated development of ecology, culture and industry.
Source: Xinhua Vision WeChat public account
Editor: Chen Meijuan (intern)