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Meredith Chen

A recent furore over the future of a popular independent bookstore has shone a fresh spotlight on concerns that the space for public debates and cultural events in China is shrinking.
The announcement that the You Xing Bookstore in Chengdu – a venue that had hosted a number of events featuring prominent Chinese and foreign speakers – would shut later this month followed the closure of a number of other bookshops as well as cancelled cultural events and film screenings across the country.
Although the bookstore now appears to have been given a reprieve, some key details about the process – including the decision-making process that determined its fate – remain unclear.
On October 29, Zhang Feng, the writer and commentator who opened the bookstore in the capital of Sichuan province two years ago, wrote on social media that the shop would have to close because it was facing an “irresistible force” – a phrase often used as a usual euphemism for political pressure.
“I had imagined many possible ways for the bookstore to end. The most likely one was force majeure – and now, it has really come,” Zhang said. “Well then. My friends, I have fought the good fight.”
One comment under his post asked why the shop was closing, saying the events it hosted “have been great”, prompting Zhang to reply “that’s exactly the reason”.
Other social media users said the incident suggested the city could not tolerate “ideas – the spirit of independent thinking”.
Zhang later deleted the references to “force majeure” and fighting the “good fight” and less than a week after his initial announcement, he said the bookstore would remain open after all – leading to speculation online that higher-level authorities had intervened to ensure its survival.
Zhang thanked his supporters and said the wave of sympathy prompted by the prospect of the store closing had generated a “wonderful effect”.
The saga highlights a familiar pattern in China’s cultural scene, where independent venues have to walk a fine line between public engagement and official pressure, as authorities continue clamping down on civil society.
This pressure has not just hit bookstores, but independent cinema events and even LGBTQ or female-friendly venues that are often left in the dark about what the authorities will deem acceptable.
The You Xing Bookstore has previously hosted conversations with prominent writers, lawyers, academics and journalists, including the British historian Adam Tooze, criminal law academic Lao Dongyan, and Chengdu-born historian Wang Di.
Zhang said he had tried to follow the rules needed to run a bookstore in China, registering talks with the authorities and keeping video recordings of events in case the authorities wanted to inspect them.
However, he said that he had been ordered to cancel a talk by the lawyer Si Weijiang in August and then cancel all events scheduled last month as part of a process of “serious rectification” after he did not register an event that featured the outspoken current affairs commentator Xiang Dongliang.
Zhang said in another post that he had been told that one of the bookstore’s “offences” had been to “increasingly become a gathering place”, but added that those attending were “simply people who still believe in goodness and the value of intellectual life”.

Chengdu has a reputation as one of the most liberal cities in China with an atmosphere that stayed vibrant even at the height of the Covid lockdowns.
One resident who moved to the city from Beijing in 2023 said they had been attracted by a cultural scene that was “accessible to anyone” – even when discussing sensitive topics – in contrast to the smaller, closed circles that attended similar events in the capital.
“That’s why I think real-life connections I have in Chengdu are important. They help you overcome feelings of helplessness and isolation. Open, public discussions help you realise that there are like-minded people around you – people who care about the same issues in the same social environment,” they said.
The resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that in recent months they had noticed a tightening of the cultural atmosphere.
Over the past few months, two book fairs in the city have suddenly been called off, at least five bookstores have closed down, and several independent film groups have halted their activities, according to public information.
Conglin, also known as Bush Definition, a group that has been arranging film events in the city for over a decade, recently announced it would suspend its activities and only act as an online source of information.
“Given the shrinking space for independently organised cultural activities at the local level, and the growing invisibility of cultural and artistic works that reflect independent thought and social reality … it has become increasingly difficult for us to plan and carry out quality events without fear,” it said.
Some cultural figures have tried to get around the increasing cultural restrictions by moving their operations overseas.
Earlier this year the Guangzhou-based independent cinema Unicorn Image relocated to Tokyo after facing pressure from the authorities. Meanwhile, the popular Shanghai bookstore Jifeng – once a favourite venue of the liberal intelligentsia – reopened in Washington last year after being forced to close by the city authorities seven years ago.

However, even events hosted overseas are feeling the pressure from the Chinese authorities.
New rules introduced in July last year say all Chinese films, including short films – which were not previously covered under the regulations – must gain approval before being shown overseas.
Earlier this month the IndieChina Film Festival, scheduled to open in New York on Saturday, announced that it had been forced to cancel the event because filmmakers and their families had been subject to “harassment” that had resulted in most of the featured films being pulled from the schedule.
“This festival is purely a platform for artistic exchange … We are deeply saddened that such an event has drawn this kind of attention. Its very silence speaks volumes about our times,” the IndieChina team said.


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The fate of a popular venue in the southwestern city of Chengdu has highlighted the increasing pressure on public activities


The fate of a popular venue in the southwestern city of Chengdu has highlighted the increasing pressure on public activities.


Censorship

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How the fight for a Chinese bookstore’s future heightened concerns over cultural squeeze

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The fate of a popular venue in the southwestern city of Chengdu has highlighted the increasing pressure on public activities

The fate of a popular venue in the southwestern city of Chengdu has highlighted the increasing pressure on public activities