- Friendship store
A Friendship Store or Youyi Shangdian (zh-stp|s=友谊商店|t=友誼商店|p=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.History
The stores were state-owned and first appeared in the 1950s, when they were primarily frequented by the many Soviet experts assisting China's economic development. 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 onlyforeign exchange certificate s 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 andShanghai . Most closed with the abolition offoreign exchange certificate s in the early 1990s, at which point foreigners could hold ordinaryrenminbi in the PRC.Modern Friendship Stores
The
Beijing store has aStarbucks ,Baskin-Robbins ,Délifrance ,Pizza Hut , and a bookshop which stocks a wide range of English-language magazines and newspapers. It has been announced that the site is to be redeveloped, with the Friendship Store being replaced by a more modernshopping center , offices and a Conrad Hotel.There are also two Friendship Stores in
Shanghai , one in the city center and one inHongqiao .ee also
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Politics of the People's Republic of China External links
* [http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/asia/china/shanghai/shop_details.html?vid=1083747038391 nytimes travel]
* [http://www.frommers.com/destinations/shanghai/S28884.html frommers Shanghai]
* [http://www.frommers.com/destinations/beijing/S22189.html frommers Beijing]
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