Qingdao builds bookstore on cultural backpacking

Zhanqiao Bookstore opened on September 30, 2017 in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province.[Photo: dailyqd.com]

A new bookstore has recently become a tourist attraction in Qingdao.

Zhanqiao Bookstore, another innovative product created by the Xinhua bookstore management, is also the first bookstore in China that focuses on international backpacking culture. Luo Laiming has more.

Navy blue, with a wave-shaped ceiling, seagull hanging ornaments, a white ship and vortex-shaped bookshelves, and fishing net with books in it... These are all parts of the design of Zhanqiao Bookstore in Qingdao.

Before the store opened, the news about its launch had been spread widely and quickly on Wechat. Yang Ning, the store manager, admitted it was a marketing strategy:

"The Wechat advertisement was just a warm-up, and we arranged a series of activities later. It's very systematic planning."

From a 24-hour bookstore in Qingdao's Mingyue Island, the Xinhua bookstore in the city has made a set of smart marketing plans including various themes for different bookstores and promoting them to different groups of consumers.

Within less than five years, Qingdao's Xinhua bookstore has experienced a remarkable upgrade and is no longer an outdated state-owned enterprise that was waiting for consumers to buy books.

Li Mingming, manager of Xinhua bookstore's Qingdao branch, explains their strategy.

"The upgraded bookstore does not simply sell books but makes book reading a core business. At the same time, we offer diversified forms of business including catering service and coffee breaks. We also provide spaces for artistic creation."

Zhanqiao Bookstore is such a brainchild designed to impress its customers. Its designer is Mr. San Shi, one of the most influential bookstore interior designers in China.

He recalls how he made the design for Zhanqiao Bookstore, the 12th bookstore he has planned in China.

"Zhanqiao Bookstore has a location that showcases marine scenery. For now, it is the first of its type in China. The bookstore has been decorated with over 100-year-old photos, red tiles, and trestle street lights. All these elements tell tourists about Qingdao's history and culture. Local residents from the city's south are so familiar with these elements of interior decoration that they are willing to stay longer."

On the first floor of the 1,500-square-meter store are books on literature, art, and tourism, original English, French, Japanese and Korean books as well as cultural and creative products.

Also on the first floor is a stage specially designed for reading activities and art performances, where promotional events for new books as well as small-scale concerts, dance and drama performances can be held.

Li Mingming, manager of Xinhua bookstore's Qingdao branch, explains that they aim at building the bookstore into a platform for cultural resources.

"The core business of Zhanqiao bookstore is still reading, but we have tried to integrate more resources into it, including tourism resources. We cooperated with local travel agencies to design itineraries following an assessment of consumer preferences. Qingdao is a live museum of world architecture, so we designed itineraries that focus on local architecture as well as celebrity homes and famous residences. There are also tourists who hope to visit as many local bookstores as possible. So we recommend our bookstore tours for them."

Zhanqiao Bookstore boasts an unparallelled function of publicizing thanks to its cooperation with Qingdao Publishing Group. Li Mingming details their plan for the next five years.

"We will be able to produce souvenirs and collectibles based on local specialties of Qingdao. This way, we may better spread local culture."

There are ten mini study rooms on the second floor of the bookstore, each equipped with table lamps and also comfortable sofas that provide readers a comfortable place to read.

Zhanqiao Bookstore is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. The opening hours will be extended during the peak travel season. Sometimes it will open 24 hours for special activities to be held.

The ground floor includes several restaurants, where readers may taste typical Qingdao delicacies, for example, noodles with gravy made from clams and green beans.

Yang Ning is head of Zhanqiao Bookstore, which employs a total of 15 staff. Of these employees, two were educated overseas, three hold masters degree and four are college graduates. All of them have a good English proficiency.

In the overall plan for the construction of bookstores in Qingdao, Zhanqiao Bookstore is just a start as Li Mingming explains:

"I plan to launch a bookstore specifically for female readers. Also, we have the plan to open a bookstore dedicated to school and family education and restore a second-hand bookstore. We hope to see Qingdao densely packed with bookstores of various scopes to better serve customers citywide."

In December, a new cultural square is scheduled to open in Huangdao district, and much of its space will be dedicated to a chain of bookstores, which will give bookworms even more choices to drown in a sea of books.

For CRI, I'm Luo Laiming.