Shanghai's Last Newsagent Finds a New Home

The last post office-owned newsagent in Shanghai, which was scheduled to close at the end of the year, has found a new location.

Currently situated on Wusong Road in Hongkou District, the newsagent will move to No. 430 Zhapu Road, according to its operator, Jiang Jun. The new shop is set to open at 8am on January 1 next year.

Jiang has worked at the outlet for nearly four decades and has seen the number of newspaper and magazine stores operated by the post office in Shanghai decline from a peak of 10,000 to just one. The shop was originally slated to close on December 31 of this year.

The news of the planned closure garnered significant public attention. Jiang said that various institutions and companies, including the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Jing'an District, reached out to him with offers of space for the shop to continue its operations.

"They felt it would be a shame for Shanghai's only remaining newsagent of this type to shut down," Jiang said.

He ultimately chose to relocate the shop to Zhapu Road Film and Television Street, located about 200 meters away. The decision was influenced by the familiarity of readers with the area, as well as the presence of many newspaper subscription offices in the post office above the site, making it convenient for him.

Zhapu Road Film and Television Street, which opened on September 26 of last year, has hosted filming for the movie "She's Got No Name," starring renowned Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. It has since established itself as a key film and television cultural hub in central Shanghai.

Jiang's new shop, slightly larger than its original location, remains under renovation, with Zhapu Road Film and Television Street offering the space rent-free and without a fixed usage term

The 66-year-old Jiang said he plans to run the new shop for another year or two before handing it over to Shen Bin, the street's operator.

"I want to keep the shop going through mentorship and passing on experience," Jiang said.

Over the years, Jiang has worked almost every day, rising at 4am to collect newspapers and often working until 6pm or later. He has one assistant who looks after the shop during his absences.

Shen has urged Jiang to take at least one day off per week, but the veteran shopowner says there's no one available to step in for him right now.