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Shanghai’s shut-down liberal bookstore poised for new lease on life in Washington

  • Jifeng hosted some 800 seminars in the five years before it closed, a tradition that will continue at the US store, owner says on WeChat

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Fans of Shanghai Jifeng Bookstore’s last branch browse under mobile phone torches after the power supply is cut off pending lease expiry, in January 2018. Photo: WeChat/ 季风微读圈
Yuanyue Dangin Beijing
A landmark Shanghai bookstore shut down by city authorities six years ago is set to open a new chapter in the United States.
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Jifeng Bookstore, once popular with Shanghai’s liberal intelligentsia for its wide range of academic titles and seminars, will reopen as “JF Books” in Washington on September 1.

“After six years, in a new country, we have dedicated our hearts and souls to restart Jifeng and bring the only Chinese bookstore to Washington DC,” Jifeng Bookstore owner Yu Miao said in a WeChat post on Saturday.

Jifeng, or “monsoon”, comes from the store’s slogan: “There is a crack in everything, and that is how the monsoon blows in.”

JF Books is expected to carry many titles that are unavailable in mainland Chinese bookstores due to strict censorship. Photo: WeChat/ 季风微读圈
JF Books is expected to carry many titles that are unavailable in mainland Chinese bookstores due to strict censorship. Photo: WeChat/ 季风微读圈

Yu’s post was shared widely online among intellectuals, media professionals and book lovers in China.

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