Why Shanghai’s best-known liberal bookshop is closing down
Authorities forced cancellation of seminars at Jifeng Bookstore on topics ranging from South China Sea to constitutionalism
The owner, founder and customers of Shanghai’s best-known liberal bookshop are counting down the days to its closure as ideological control in China becomes stricter.
The Jifeng Bookstore’s last branch in the city, which opened at the Shanghai Library metro station four years ago, is due to shut its doors at the end of January, when its lease expires.
Long regarded a cultural landmark in China’s financial capital, Jifeng is known for its high-quality academic books on politics, philosophy, law and history, topics that are also explored by well-known scholars at regular seminars held in a large room at the shop.
Yu Miao, who bought a majority stake in Jifeng five years ago from founder Yan Bofei, said the library had decided to resume the premises for its own use and he had encountered “non-commercial” interference that had stymied efforts to find an alternative location.
“Some projects, including cultural/creative centres, invited us to open a bookshop at a favourable price or even rent-free,” said Yu, an entrepreneur in his mid-40s. “But the local culture departments made it clear they did not want Jifeng to move in when the landlord attempted to apply for a licence.”
