The arrival of winter brings gradually colder outdoor temperatures, as well as a wave of enthusiasm for reading in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/Guanhai News]

The arrival of winter brings gradually colder outdoor temperatures, as well as a wave of enthusiasm for reading. Many residents of Qingdao head to bookstores to read and engage in self-improvement through learning. In response, physical bookstores are continuously innovating their business models, expanding boundaries, introducing new styles and features, and enhancing the reading experience.

Several bookstores in Shinan district, Qingdao are creating cultural consumption spaces that go beyond reading, each based on their own positioning and philosophy.

Xinhua Bookstore, which has been a companion to the growth of Qingdao residents, has always been the city's top bookstore due to the vast collection of books within its 10,000 square meters of space.

Over 300 lectures, book signings, and other events promoting reading have been held this year, enriching the cultural lives of the city's residents. Additionally, activities such as youth night schools, children's reading rooms, concerts, study tours, and various urban cultural and creative events cater to diverse cultural needs across different age groups, according to Liu Wenchuan, an employee at Xinhua Bookstore.

In early December, Fangsuo Bookstore in Qingdao, as a cooperating bookstore for the Qingdao University Student Reading Festival's reading challenge, provided university students with opportunities for immersive reading and diverse book selections. Students who completed the immersive reading challenge along the designated route and successfully checked in would receive themed cultural products.

In addition to incorporating a diverse range of business models, many bookstores in Qingdao accurately target customer groups with unique concepts to create distinctive cultural brands.

With the arrival of winter, this multifunctional humanistic space combining reading, culture, aesthetics, and coffee has introduced various types of attractions, such as shared book-for-coffee exchanges, monthly book rental cards, book recycling, and discounts on new and old books, attracting many young literary and artistic fans.