The world’s largest traditional Chinese 24-hour bookstore, the Xinyi branch of the Eslite bookstore, officially closed its doors on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. after 18 years in business.
Eslite Spectrum Corp., which runs the Eslite bookstore chain, first opened the Xinyi branch in 2006. However, with the landlord, Uni-President Group, declining to renew the lease of the Xinyi premises, Eslite has had to close down their operations.
According to Eslite, one million people have visited the store during the month of December alone. On its final day of operations, a record high of 85,000 visitors to the store in a single day was reached. Eslite also revealed that more than 100,000 books have been sold in the past month, with many consumers in the 20s - 40s age group.
With the closure of the Xinyi location, Eslite’s Songyan branch will be turned into a 24-hour bookstore starting Jan. 20, 2024. In the interim, Eslite’s Nanxi branch will also be offering 24-hour operations to continue servicing book lovers from all walks of life.