(Ecns.cn)--Facing great challenges from online bookstores and e-books, most bookstores in China are trying every means to survive. But a newly opened one in Shenzhen is trying something different.
Located in the Overseas Chinese Town's Loft (OCT-Loft) in Shenzhen, the bookstore with a name that can be literally translated as "Going Bankrupt in 30 Days" is, as what its name indicates, only expected to survive for 30 days from its opening day on October 24 to November 22.
"This bookstore is not opened to make profits. You may even look at it as a kind of performance art or a folk cultural festival that lasts for 30 days," said the initiator of this activity. Open from 11 am to 9 pm, the bookstore mainly sells books on humanities, society, and science.
The bookstore will have 30 shop managers during its operation and every one of them will raise a topic or question during his or her day in the shop and discuss it with people who come into the bookstore. Every weekend, these managers will gather together to exchange their experience in the shop.
"This is a good way to appeal for people to pay more attention to bookstores," said Zhang Zhouyi, the first manager of the bookshop. "Although the current situation is hard for all bookstores, I do not think that they will disappear."
The initiator of the activity published recruitment information about shop managers on Weibo and Douban.com, eventually choosing 30 people from 100 applicants. "I do not really know what the result will be, but I expect to see some problems which we can discuss and find solutions to."
From 2007 to 2009, about ten thousand bookstores went bankrupt. Though some people think there is no need for bookstores, the initiator is still positive about the existence of bookstores and hopes to do something to help bookstores operate better.
