Since the beginning of this year, several bookstores in mainland China featuring the sale of Hong Kong and Taiwan publications have quietly closed down, marking a notable trend of physical bookstores shutting their doors. Despite the impact on physical stores, the demand from mainland readers for traditional Chinese characters remains strong. More people are turning to online book purchases, with platforms like the second-hand trading app “Xianyu” becoming a channel for buying Taiwanese publications that touch upon sensitive topics related to China.
The pricing mechanism for Chinese publications is on the verge of collapse in the eyes of many publishing professionals. On online book platforms in China such as Dangdang.com and JD.com, the prices of genuine new books can be discounted to 40% or even 50% off, leaving many physical bookstore owners lamenting the difficulty of doing business as the selling price may even be lower than their purchase cost.
Beijing’s Fish in the Sea Bookstore, specializing in books from Taiwan and Hong Kong, closed its doors at the end of November after five years in operation. The Kubrick Bookstore with Hong Kong investment background also shut its doors in early October after fifteen years of serving readers. The Half-Basement Bookstore in Shanghai, renowned for architecture, arts, and books from Taiwan and Hong Kong, closed its doors at the end of March after a decade of persistence.
However, some industry insiders analyzing the situation shared with the Central News Agency that the closure of these bookstores does not necessarily mean that Taiwanese publications are difficult to sell. The reasons for bookstore closures are varied, primarily due to relatively high operating costs and competition from platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu selling books. Conversely, Taiwanese publications or foreign editions retain their value and sell well due to their rarity, only limited by the scarcity of sales channels.
The persistent high prices of Taiwanese publications are inevitable. For instance, a Taiwanese literary magazine priced at NT$240 is marked at around RMB 100 (approximately NT$440) in Chinese bookstores. This is mainly because the cost of procurement is already close to 95% of the original price, coupled with expenses for customs clearance, transportation, and retail, leading to a significant price increase in the final sale.
The readership of Taiwanese publications mainly consists of university professors, researchers, and academic professionals (visible through the issuing of invoices), as well as avid readers who value in-depth reading and are knowledgeable about China’s censorship mechanisms. For social science books published on both sides of the strait, “those who genuinely want to read will choose the Taiwanese edition.”
With physical bookstores and public online bookstores restricted to selling “legally” imported books, Taiwanese publications dealing with more sensitive or borderline topics are now moving towards a more covert online trading space – the Xianyu second-hand trading platform.
Readers intentionally avoid strictly regulated professional platforms like Kongfuzi Old Books Network and opt to hunt for treasures on popular comprehensive second-hand trading platforms among the younger generation, such as Xianyu. Transactions here are often discreet, with sellers sometimes using cover codes or avoiding mentioning the book titles to attract like-minded buyers.
For example, the works of Chinese readers’ beloved author Peter Hessler, such as “Other Rivers: A Chinese Education,” can no longer be openly sold in mainland China. Readers have been seen purchasing this book from Taiwanese sellers on Xianyu, despite the high total cost (book price of RMB 190 + shipping fee of RMB 70), they are willing to bear the expense.
However, due to the risk of customs confiscation when directly shipping from Taiwan, many buyers ultimately choose to pay a higher price (over RMB 300) to purchase from Xianyu sellers who have already imported the books into mainland China, thus seeking transaction stability.