Historic Xinhua bookstore chain turns 80

State-owned Xinhua Bookstore turns 80 this year. It was established in 1937 by the Communist Party of China in the wartime revolutionary base of Yan’an in Shaanxi province.
Its logo is calligraphy written by Mao Zedong in 1948.
It is the largest and only book retail chain that covers the country. Today, there are reportedly 14,000 Xinhua bookstores and distribution centers, and 130,000 employees. Its total assets and sales volume exceed RMB100 billion (P729 billion).
About 1,700 articles were received for the online campaign, My Stories, with Xinhua Bookstores. The webpage was viewed 20 million times.
The chain is China’s only country-wide distribution channel for magazines, and CDs and DVDs. It has also opened new, boutique-like shops that make bookstores more a place to read, experience local culture and spend leisure time.
Yan’an Bookstore, with a theme of revolutionary history, is another such upgraded shop in Yan’an. It has 2,000 square meters of space and is designed with historic scenes, like the cave houses in northern Shaanxi and the Yan’an Nursery house.
The Yan’an Nursery was a musical play based on the true story of a school that took care of soldiers’ children during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949). Some children had lost their parents and spent their childhood in the school.
Its main store is now in Xicheng District in Beijing. It has overseas subsidiaries in New York City, San Diego, London, and Binondo, Manila.