Bookstore starts new chapter

Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore, which opened in 1958, closed for renovation on Wednesday.

The bookshop is situated in bustling Wangfujing Street, and is the country's first enterprise in a cultural realm to operate on a shareholding procedure.

The 66-year-old bookstore is a popular site and celebrated scholars like Qian Xuesen and Chen Jingrun were regular customers in the 1960s and '70s. In 1994, annual sales exceeded 100 million yuan ($13.9 million).

Xu Hongsheng, the bookstore's president, said that some of its business will be carried on online.

"We'll organize an online library for readers to lend foreign titles. And we'll show up more on book fairs, cultural markets, as well as setting up flash-mobbing stores," Xu said.

The reconstruction after redesign is expected to finish by the end of 2025.

An Liang, assistant to the general manager, said the new bookstore will feature international exchanges; and by offering more space for salons, exhibitions and events, it will become a hub for international students and visitors.