Beijing to open 24-hour bookstore

Beijing will open its first 24-hour bookstore at the China Beijing Publishing Creative Industry Park (CBPCIP), the first of its kind in the city.

Mr. Feng Junke, who heads the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press and Publication, the book store's supervisory agency, confirmed the news on Monday while attending the city's political consultative conference.

Feng denied the recent rumor that Eslite Bookstore, a renowned Taiwanese bookstore chain which is also open 24 hours a day, will land in Beijing soon. "There is no such application yet," he said.

The bookstore to open in CBPCIP is under Beijing Genuine & Profound Culture Development Co., Ltd., whose current bookstores only have daytime business hours. But the parent company has applied for a 24-hour license.

Feng said his bureau will give financial and preferential policy support to 24-hour bookstores to see "whether the business model will stand the time trial," especially when online bookstores are chipping away their market shares.

Both Hong Kong and Taiwan have successful 24-hour bookstores; Singapore's Page One bookstore has a presence in several countries and regions in Asia already.

Also according to Feng, all bookstores in Beijing, not necessarily 24-hour ones, will receive support from the municipal government.

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