During 2017, Qingguo's sales volume from selling books nearly equalled that of its other businesses.

Founded in 1937 in Yan'an of northwest China's Shaanxi province, the base of the Communist Party of China in revolutionary times, the Xinhua bookstore was once the largest state-run publisher in China.

The four Chinese characters "Xin Hua Shu Dian" on the signboards of the Xinhua bookstores, written by Chairman Mao in the 1940s, form a collective memory for generations of Chinese readers.

Decades ago, Xinhua was the only choice for book buyers in many Chinese cities. The four characters have become a cultural symbol.

However, the rise of e-commerce and private bookstores that put more emphasis on customer experience have overshadowed the Xinhua bookstores, which are getting lonely and desolate, evoking a sense of nostalgia.