On the last day of Hengshan and Heji
August 31, 2023 is the last day for Hengshan Heji to accompany readers. The store stated that there are currently no plans to relocate and open a new store in Shanghai.
In 2022, there were rumors of Hengshan Heji closing its store, and after multiple efforts and coordination, it was able to continue operating.
In the afternoon, Hengshan and Heji were overcrowded.
In the narrow hallway of the bookstore, people stand and sit on the wall seats, flipping through and selecting books. There is a long queue in front of the cash register, and the closed store offers special discounts, attracting many readers to bring books and picture books back home in bulk at a cost of hundreds to thousands of yuan. In the days close to closing, the daily revenue of the bookstore often reached 20000 to 30000, almost 10 times the daily revenue of the past.
About a month ago, there was news of the bookstore closing, and the Shanghai Book Fair became its last appearance, boosting its popularity.
In the past few days, the average daily flow of people to Hengshan • Heji has exceeded 1000, far exceeding the daily average of 2-300 people in the past.
On August 18th, during the Shanghai Book Fair, a new book exchange event attracted a room full of readers.
Unfortunately, this is not the norm for Hengshan Heji. The reader stated that they live in the area of Hengshan Road and used to pass by Hengshan • Heji, where it is often deserted.
The emergence of Hengshan Heji is a portrayal of the perfect bookstore by Ling Hulei, the creative director of Hengshan Heji.
In 2015, Hengshan Heji opened and became a bookstore, reception hall, magazine museum, film shooting location, inspiration gathering point, and exchange venue. Two years later, the internet celebrity bookstore "Space of Light" designed by Tadao Ando opened in Shanghai; Five years later, the top tier bookstore brand from Japan, "Niaoya Bookstore," became the first to establish its Shanghai layout in Shangsheng Xinsuo.
The long queue at the checkout counter of Hengshan Heji has been the norm recently.
The magazine wall composed of selected magazines from different countries has opened a window to the world for readers. Even in the Internet era, where information is easily available, these magazines still have an irreplaceable good reading experience and the attribute of screening high-quality information.
Frequently held offline cultural lectures and book exchanges allow authors from all over the world to enter this warm old mansion and meet Chinese readers.
The various lectures of Hengshan and Heji never lack audiences.
In the mouths of many coffee enthusiasts, Hengshan Heji's coffee is the reason they enter a bookstore. In those dull days of business, the beverage sales in bookstores did indeed contribute half of the daily revenue.
However, the monthly property fees of 10000 to 20000 yuan, not to mention the high rent, have made the closure of bookstores a matter of time from an early age.
At present, Hengshan Heji has four stores in Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Qingdao. Hengshan Heji is the only store in Shanghai where Fang is located.
On the last day of the Hengshan Heji, there were two small changes compared to before.
One is to extend the business hours to 2am until late at night, and many readers will come one after another, or simply stay here to spend the last night with their beloved bookstore.
Secondly, a cultural lecture was held. Shanghai urban culture author and researcher Zhou Li and illustrator Guo Wenyuan, starting from her illustration works, engaged in a discussion about how people's daily lives in Shanghai during the isolated island period of the 1930s.
"We don't want to be too sad, we just hope this bookstore completes its closing ceremony in the most natural state." Before the lecture began, the manager of Hengshan Heji spoke in a gentle tone to the crowded room of readers on site.
A clerk from Hengshan Heji is counting down numbers on his WeChat Moments every day. At 2:13 am on the 31st, she posted a "1" on her WeChat Moments.
On the day of closure, you can see the beautiful scenery of burning clouds from the bookstore terrace.
"Oh, I don't want to buy it anymore. Take a look on JD.com and it's only 31 yuan. Here, 98 yuan is discounted by 30%, which is still not cost-effective." Two girls dressed in fashionable clothes walked out of Hengshan and Jimenkou. Their backs gradually receded, and together with the cheerful voice of roast, they slowly disappeared into the cool night sky after the rain in Shanghai.
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