China to support brick-and-mortar book retailers with cash

With the rise of online shopping websites like Amazon and Taobao, bookstores are struggling, and many have closed. China has introduced policies to support bookstores with capital and tax exemption in 12 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

With the rise of online shopping websites like Amazon and Taobao, bookstores are struggling, and many have closed. China has introduced policies to support bookstores with capital and tax exemption in 12 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

It looks like a warehouse. Squeezed into this 100-square meter space, are more than 70,000 different types of books. The shop opened in 1997. Rising rent has forced it to downsize

"Our shop was bigger. But now business is more and more difficult." Ms. Gao, sales clerk with Shulin Book Shop, said.

Many other book shops that opened in the 1990s have already closed. Only ten private book shops in Hangzhou are still in business. But they are losing customers.

"This is a quiet place for resting and thinking. Sometimes I also hang out with friends here. But if I want to buy books, I won't consider book shops." Bookstore customer said.

Hangzhou Xiaofeng Bookstore has received 300,000 yuan or about 50,000 US dollars in capital support from the city government over the past two years. The amount is not small for a shop earning about 120,000 yuan or less than 20,000 dollars a year.

"This 300,000 yuan is actually like a government prize for innovation. We could use it to improve our business model." Jiang Aijun, owner of Hangzhou Xiaofeng Bookstore,said.

This tourist cartoon map is a fast selling product in Hangzhou. Xiaofeng is its biggest distributor.

"Xiaofeng Bookstore takes up 20 percent of our total sales. It's the biggest of our 160 or more distributors." Xu Qi, general manager of Hangzhou Maipu Culture Creative Co., said.

Ten percent of Xiaofeng's sales are creative products. For book retailers, the future must go beyond books.

"There will not only be books, but also a stylish cafe, mini theatre or a creative studio. This can be a place for imagination and discussion. Only if we bring those elements together, can we survive in the long term." Jiang said.

For many people, bookstore is not only a shop or a business. It represents the culture and spirit of the city. There will be changes of the business model. But there will always be people who want to read or just to spend some time in a bookstore.