Friendship store
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A friendship store or youyi shangdian (simplified Chinese: 友谊商店; traditional Chinese: 友誼商店; pinyin: Yǒuyì Shāngdiàn) is a state-run store in China, which initially sold exclusively to tourists, foreigners, diplomats, and government officials but now has no restrictions on customers.
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[edit] History
The stores were state-owned and were started in major cities as a sign of friendship when China first opened to the outside world, in the late 1970s. The stores sold western, imported items, such as peanut butter and Hershey bars, as well as Chinese art and crafts. The prices were considerably higher than market prices in the country of origin, but as the stores operated as a monopoly for imported items, buyers had no other choice. The old friendship stores accepted only foreign exchange certificates as currency. Items for sale included also uncensored copies of Western literature such as The New York Times, and, hence, guards prevented anyone of Chinese appearance from entering. Often crowds of people would look in the door to see what was for sale.
A few stores remain open, especially in Beijing and Shanghai, as a relic of the past. Most closed with the with the abolition of foreign exchange certificates and in the early 1990's at which point foreginers could hold ordinary renminbi in the PRC.
[edit] Modern friendship stores
The Beijing store has a Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins, Délifrance, Pizza Hut, and a bookshop which stocks a wide range of English-language magazines and newspapers (which are still not widely available in China). Recently, it has been announced that the site is to be redeveloped, with the friendship store being replaced by a more modern shopping center, offices and a Conrad hotel. The new complex is planned to be finished before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
There are also two friendship stores in Shanghai, one in the city center and one in Hongqiao.
