Formerly a cultural landmark in Shanghai, the independent bookstore “Seasonal Wind Book Garden” was once forced to close its doors. The former owner, Yu Miao, recently announced on WeChat that Seasonal Wind Book Garden will reopen in Washington, D.C. on September 1st, sparking enthusiastic responses from readers who commented, “The seasonal wind will eventually return.” However, the announcement was later deleted.
On the evening of August 24th, former chairman of Seasonal Wind Bookstore Limited, Yu Miao, announced on WeChat that Seasonal Wind would reopen in Washington, D.C., bringing the only Chinese bookstore to the nation’s capital. He wrote, “Seasonal Wind’s taste remains the same, adhering to an independent stance, focusing on ideas and the future, advocating freedom and diversity.”
The announcement quickly garnered numerous comments from netizens: “It’s great to see the name of Seasonal Wind reappearing in a different place. Waiting for you to reclaim Shanghai.” “When there is darkness in the east, there is light in the west.” “It’s a pity that there is no gentle seasonal wind in Shanghai anymore.” “The seasonal wind will eventually blow back.”
Currently in the United States, Yu Miao told the Central News Agency that the idea to open a bookstore was formed approximately six months ago. Over the past two years, whether voluntarily or due to passive reasons, Chinese immigrants to the U.S. East Coast all express a strong desire to rebuild cultural ecology and have a high demand for Chinese books.
The upcoming Seasonal Wind Book Garden in the U.S. will consist of 70% Chinese books from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and 30% locally sourced English books, focusing on China and Asian studies, as well as English works written by Asian writers.
Yu Miao stated that the target audience includes local Chinese readers, Chinese students studying near the bookstore, and locals and intellectuals interested in China or Asia.
Bookstore operations face commercial challenges worldwide. Yu Miao mentioned that he registered Seasonal Wind as a non-profit organization in the U.S. and plans to attract social donations by organizing lectures, book clubs, film screenings, and other events that reflect the public nature of Seasonal Wind.
He mentioned that the lease for the Washington, D.C. Seasonal Wind store is for 10 years, indicating a long-term undertaking.
Two days after the announcement of Seasonal Wind Book Garden’s reopening in Washington, D.C., the post was deleted by the web administrator. Yu Miao described this as a “familiar scenario happening again.”
Founded by scholar Yan Bofei in 1997, Seasonal Wind Book Garden operated in Shanghai for 20 years, with up to 8 branches during its peak. Yu Miao took over the operation in 2012. Seasonal Wind Book Garden was renowned in the arts and culture sector for upholding an “independent cultural stance and free expression of ideas.” In addition to book sales, it also organized lectures and other activities, exerting wide social influence and being considered a cultural landmark in Shanghai.
Due to various pressures from the Chinese authorities, Seasonal Wind Book Garden’s branches were constantly shrinking. The final bookstore was forced to close on January 31, 2018, due to the landlord’s decision not to renew the lease. Yu Miao understood that the reason for not renewing the lease was related to official concerns that the bookstore’s lecture activities could pose risks, as these activities encouraged critical thinking and social awareness with speakers who might not be welcomed by the authorities.
After Seasonal Wind Book Garden closed, Yu Miao and his family moved to the United States.
On January 17, 2023, news emerged that Yu Miao’s wife, Xie Fang, who returned to China in January 2022 for a family visit, was restricted from leaving the country. The public security bureau informed her that only if Yu Miao returned to China for investigation could she be allowed to depart. Xie Fang pleaded in a lengthy post for help to restore her freedom to travel overseas and reunite with her family. The post was swiftly deleted by Chinese officials, but screenshots of the article can be found on overseas websites.
In her statement, Xie Fang mentioned that she returned to Shanghai from the U.S. in January 2022 to take care of her sick mother, and later faced travel restrictions due to the city’s COVID-19 control measures. She originally planned to return to the U.S. in August 2022 to reunite with her family, but was stopped at the Pudong Airport in Shanghai by border control officers, who accused her of violating the Exit-Entry Administration Law by endangering national security, thus prohibiting her from leaving the country.
Subsequently, Shanghai public security officers interviewed Xie Fang multiple times and asked about whether Yu Miao had published articles under a pen name in the U.S. during the first half of 2022.
Xie Fang disclosed that the public security officers clearly informed her that her freedom to leave the country could be restored only if Yu Miao returned to China for investigation.
Xie Fang appealed to the Chinese authorities to restore her freedom so she could reunite with her family. If her outbound travel rights were to be further limited, she requested official legal documents and enforcement basis for proper appeal.
After enduring a nine-month restriction from leaving the country, Xie Fang finally departed for the U.S. in May 2023 to reunite with her family.
At that time, Yu Miao posted on the social media platform Twitter (now X platform) that his wife had been restricted from leaving Shanghai on August 1 of the previous year, with the authorities using this as a means to compel him to return. After five months of rational arguments, one month of public protest, and three months of silent waiting, today finally brought the reunion with his family.