The Baixin Bookstore, a time-honored Shanghai establishment that dates back to 1912, has recently found a new existence as an integrated cultural and lifestyle space.

The century-old bookstore and publisher is located on Fuzhou Road, once one of four main roads in downtown Shanghai. Dotted with bookstores and publishing houses, it is known as the "street of culture".

After refurbishment as a cultural and commercial space, the new Baixin Bookstore opened on July 31 as Baixin Book S. With books as its core, it integrates a variety of other offerings including dining and cafe options, exhibitions, shows, a paper and a record store, expanding the role and possibilities of a bookstore.

Chen Xinqiao, its 34-year-old general manager, says that the bookstore occupies a prime location close to schools, white collar businesses, as well as tourists and visitors from all over China and the world.

"A bookstore is a physical space, and we must take into account the demand for offline consumption today, such as dining areas, (cultural) salons for social networking, exhibitions and lectures," says Chen. "We are trying to attract more visitors with the different divisions and layout."

Baixin consists of six areas. In addition to its well-designed book store and categorized display areas, its dining space and paper store are equally eye-catching.

Named the Bao Du Bookstro, which basically means "to read and be full", the dining space is inspired by the concepts of the "bistro" and the "strolling in books". Chen says that Baixin is like a book itself, as it hopes to provide visitors with a space to stroll among books and become mentally full, as well as become physically full with the tasty food on offer.

Superpaper Sonic, the paper store inside the bookstore, is another historical Shanghai brand. Established in 1934, it specializes in selling all kinds of paper, and is now looking to explore more possibilities in the use of paper, and different lifestyle options.

"Superpaper Sonic is becoming more international. Many of the products on sale are made for it abroad in countries like Thailand and Nepal. It also offers paper lifestyle options. Apart from being used for writing and packaging, paper can also be a form of home decoration, used for curtains, carpets and even vases," he explains.

Despite the challenging status quo that traditional bookstores face, Chen, who is a book and bookstore lover and entered the industry four years ago, sees the necessity and value of cultural spaces and platforms.

"Over the past century, Baixin has gone through ups and downs, like any other old brand. Currently, I think the most challenging thing for bookstores is how to attract more readers and visitors with our offerings and limited display space," says Chen.

"So we have upgraded with food, displays, exhibitions and activities to make Baixin an interesting and relaxing cultural space, where people from different fields and sectors can enjoy themselves, as well as meet and talk."

A cultural festival was launched with the opening of the bookstore and featured a variety of artists and musical styles including piano, folk, jazz and R&B.

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