Would you be tempted to get into a robotaxi and drive to your destination without a driver behind the wheel? You may soon have the chance. While Tesla boss Elon Musk presented his Cybercab in the USA a few days ago, the Chinese company Baidu is forging ahead with the international expansion of its Apollo Go robotaxis. The Chinese company pony.ai also aims to bring autonomous taxis to Europe, South Korea and the Middle East. The Chinese company WeRide, on the other hand, has already received approval to test autonomous vehicles in several countries. Jörn Petring has summarized the race for the most successful robot taxi.
The Chinese leadership responded with massive military exercises on Monday to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s speech on National Day last week. The aircraft carrier Liaoning was deployed, and more than 90 fighter jets crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait in one day – more than ever before. David Demes analyzes the broad hybrid threat with which the Chinese leadership is trying to intimidate the people of Taiwan.
Taiwan is also home to the bookstore of former journalist Zhang Jieping, who fled to Taipei to escape political repression in Hong Kong. Her Nowhere bookstore has not only become a gathering spot for Hong Kong exiles, it is also part of a larger movement: In many parts of the world, Chinese emigrants are forming communities to think and create a freer China in exile. In her bookshop, Zhang even issues passports to a “Nowhere Republic,” a fictitious place of longing, writes Leonardo Pape.
Have an enlightening read and a pleasant day,
In the early hours of Monday morning, China launched a large-scale military drill around Taiwan and the outlying islands of Matsu and Dongyin. The exercise, entitled “Joint Sword 2024B,” is a continuation of the eponymous military drill held in May shortly after President Lai took office. Just last week, Taiwanese security authorities had warned that China could use the Taiwanese president’s National Day address on October 10 as a pretext for another military drill.
According to Chinese state television, the drill included exercises simulating a blockade of the island and the rapid overpowering of Taiwanese forces. Fighter jets equipped with live missiles rehearsed attacks against Taiwanese ports and military installations. Wei Cao, a Chinese Air Force fighter pilot, was quoted on state television as saying: “We want to use a language comprehensible for the enemy and warn separatist force in Taiwan that those engaging in separatist activities will cause war, get burned for playing with fire, and bring destruction to themselves.”
Between 05:00 a.m. and 04:30 p.m., Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense counted 125 Chinese aircraft near the island, 90 of which crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the island’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) – a new record. At around 6 p.m. local time, China surprisingly declared the drill over.
However, the Chinese Ministry of Defense emphasized that further exercises may follow. “The People’s Liberation Army’s actions will be pushed further with each ‘Taiwan independence’ provocation until the Taiwan issue is completely resolved,” the Ministry said in a statement.
The aircraft carrier “Liaoning” played a key role in the drill. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense explained at a press conference in Taipei that the movements of the “Liaoning” were being closely monitored. With the deployment of Shenyang J-15 fighter jets stationed on the aircraft carrier, China wanted to show that it is also capable of threatening Taiwan from the sea and thus simultaneously from the east and west, the Ministry said. In addition, the intention is to deny foreign armed forces access to the deployment area.
The Chinese Coast Guard was also heavily involved in the operation. According to state broadcaster CCTV, Coast Guard vessels entered restricted waters near the island of Matsu, which is close to the Chinese coast, to “tear up” boundaries set by Taiwan authorities. However, the ships were intercepted by the Taiwanese Coast Guard.
Four ship formations of the Chinese Coast Guard also sailed around the main island of Taiwan for the first time. Analysts consider this a significant strategic development. “The biggest change this time is the joint operation by the Navy and Coast Guard,” said military strategist Lin Ying-yu on public television station PTS on Monday evening. What China had rehearsed around the island of Kinmen in May, the People’s Liberation Army tried to apply to the main island of Taiwan yesterday, Lin said.
The Chinese Coast Guard posted a picture on its official Weibo account showing the route of the four ships involved in the patrol around Taiwan in the shape of a heart. The accompanying text reads: “Each patrol is in the shape of an ‘I love you’” – a message that underlines China’s goal of not only displaying military power, but also achieving a psychological effect.
In a music video produced specifically for the drill, the Eastern Command and the University of the People’s Liberation Army also sing about watching Taiwan’s east coast from a battleship in 2024. In an animation by the Eastern Command, published during the drill, the Chinese character for “weapon” is made up of a montage of keywords. It contains the names of the last drills, “Joint Sword 2024A” and “Joint Sword 2024B,” as well as the designation “Joint Sword 2024X” – a clear warning to the people of Taiwan that China could launch another drill at any time – all attempts to weaken Taiwan psychologically.
Reactions to the drills quickly followed. The Taiwanese presidential office stressed that China should recognize the reality of the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and respect the Taiwanese people’s choice for a democratic and free way of life. It added that President Lai had already convened a meeting of the National Security Council in the morning to assess the situation.
The Taiwanese Minister for Mainland Affairs, Chiu Chui-cheng, criticized the drills as threatening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He accused China of ignoring the goodwill of the Taiwanese government and the hopes of the people of Taiwan for peace. China’s pursuit of hegemony is the fundamental cause of insecurity in the region, said Chiu.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller expressed serious concern about Chinese military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. “The PRC response with military provocations to a routine annual speech is unwarranted and risks escalation,” Miller said. The US called on China to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further undermine peace and stability in the region.
In a statement, the EU stressed that peace and stability in the region are of strategic importance for regional and global security. Furthermore, the EU declared its direct interest in preserving the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and rejected any unilateral change through force or coercion. It called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid any escalation.
Chinese manufacturers will not surrender the market for autonomous taxis to Elon Musk without a fight. While the Tesla boss presented his Cybercab in the USA a few days ago, the Chinese tech group Baidu is pressing ahead with plans for the international expansion of its Apollo Go robotaxis. The Beijing-based company plans to initially put self-driving vehicles on the roads in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East.
The Wall Street Journal and the Japanese business newspaper Nikkei reported that Baidu was in talks with local companies and regulatory authorities. Baidu’s overseas plans emerged almost at the same time as Tesla’s grand show in Hollywood last Thursday, where the company unveiled the Cybercab to the public for the first time. Although Baidu did not steal the show from its US rival, it did secure some global attention for its own project in its wake.
The timing could also be seen as a challenge from the Chinese to Tesla. Although Baidu has no technological advantage in the upcoming competition with its rival, it may have a time advantage. Unlike Tesla, the company has already gained experience with its robo-taxi service. In August, Apollo Go announced that it operated more than 400 driverless taxis in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. It is the company’s largest fleet in the country.
In the second quarter of this year, Apollo Go completed almost 900,000 trips in China – although the majority still involved a safety driver. The tech company is also working on a new version of its platform for autonomous driving, called Apollo 10.0, which is being developed for a global audience.
At Tesla, on the other hand, there are considerable doubts about the timetable. After all, Musk is known for missing deadlines by a long shot. The billionaire promised investors back in 2019 that the company would have more than one million robotaxis on the road by the following year. This is still not the case. What is clear, however, is that the latest announcements by both companies have brought the introduction of robotaxis into everyday life a little closer.
Other Chinese companies are also forging ambitious plans. Pony.ai, backed by the world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota, and the Saudi state investment fund NEOM, plans to launch autonomous taxis in South Korea, Europe and the Middle East. Pony.ai also collaborates with a Singaporean taxi company to gain a foothold in the local market.
WeRide – another Chinese company with Nissan as an investor – has received approvals to test autonomous vehicles in several countries. For example, the company cooperates with Uber to operate robotaxis in the United Arab Emirates. It is also testing shuttle buses in Singapore. The Chinese providers are also keen to expand overseas, hoping to achieve significantly higher margins for their services there.
The Chinese market is already experiencing a similar dynamic to that of EV manufacturers. Numerous companies compete and offer their services at extremely low prices. In Wuhan, for example, the robotaxis are significantly cheaper than the already very affordable taxis with human drivers. “The primary motivation for expanding overseas is the intense and unhealthy competition in the domestic market,” Qu Ke, an analyst at CCB International, told the Wall Street Journal.
However, the important US market will likely remain closed to Chinese providers. In September, the US Department of Commerce proposed banning Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads. It is considered likely that this plan will be implemented. Tesla is more likely to face competition from other US companies on its own doorstep. Example: Waymo. The company, owned by Google parent Alphabet, already offers autonomous driving services in several cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In China, on the other hand, foreign companies could well have the opportunity to offer self-driving vehicles and taxis as things stand. Very strict data regulations also apply there, and many details remain unclear. Moreover, robotaxis are currently only offered by domestic providers. However, Tesla is confident that it will soon receive approval from the authorities for its self-driving functions. This would also be a first step towards the Cybercab entering the Chinese market at some point in the future.
As far as the design is concerned, the Cybercabs look much more advanced than Baidu’s. The Chinese vehicles have a bulky construction on the roof that houses LIDAR sensors and other hardware. The Cybercab does not have such a structure, as Tesla primarily relies on cameras integrated into the body of its self-driving vehicles. Musk also announced that the vehicles can be charged by induction without cables. However, it remained unclear what the required charging stations would look like and how quickly such an infrastructure could be available.
Analysts expressed disappointment on Thursday that Musk only provided very few details. The Tesla boss indicated that starting next year, self-driving Teslas may no longer need to be monitored by a driver, initially in Texas. However, the robotaxis would still be based on the old Models Y and 3. The robotaxi that Musk drove in resembled a smaller version of a Model 3, but had neither a steering wheel nor pedals.
The new Cybercab is expected to be manufactured by 2027. Apparently, the Tesla taxi will not only function as a service offered by the company itself, but will also be offered for sale for around 30,000 dollars. People could purchase a fleet of 10 to 20 vehicles and, according to Musk, rent them out and manage them “like a shepherd with a flock of sheep.”
Since mid-2022, the Nowhere Bookstore has been located in a side street of the popular Ximending nightlife district in western Taipei. Inside, the bookshelves are lined up close together and are moved aside during events, as there is so little space in the store. But as unassuming as it may seem, the bookstore has become an important platform for political debates and a meeting place for Taiwan’s Hong Kong community in recent years.
Zhang Jieping, founder of Nowhere Bookstore, has taken the plunge into the unknown several times. She originally hails from the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu. She first moved to Guangzhou in southern China for her studies, and from there to nearby Hong Kong. Zhang began a career as a journalist. In 2015, she became editor of the newly founded news platform Initium, with the aim of reaching a broad global audience in the fragmented Chinese media landscape.
At the time, independent media in Hong Kong were already increasingly under attack from the government. After the enactment of the National Security Act in 2020, the situation deteriorated drastically. Initium moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore. In 2021, Zhang Jieping moved to Taiwan and made a fresh start with the Nowhere bookstore.
She came to open the bookshop more by chance, she explains in the podcast bù míngbái bōkè (不明白播客), in which New York Times columnist Yuan Li interviews personalities from the Chinese-speaking world. The podcast, which translates as “Don’t Understand” in English, is censored in China, but is popular among expatriate Chinese. Another emigrant from Hong Kong had already set up the bookshop, but then had to leave Taiwan. Zhang took over the business without further ado and opened the store under a new name.
The Chinese name of the bookshop Fēidì (飛地) literally means exclave, a part of a country within another country. It alludes to the growing community of those who have left China, particularly Hong Kong, for economic and political reasons. Zhang Jieping hopes that people can connect in her bookstore and redefine their relationship with the country they left behind. Many of the books and events in Zhang Jieping’s bookshop focus on the history and society of China and Hong Kong in particular.
The Nowhere Bookstore is a place where visitors can experience a China outside the country’s borders. But at the same time, it forms a new space of its own, a country in the middle of nowhere. The bookstore even issues stylized passports – notebooks with the imprint Fēidì gònghéguó (飛地共和國 – Nowhere Republic).
What Zhang Jieping calls a “new creation of China” is the fact that Chinese-speaking emigrants have founded new communities around the world in recent years. The Nowhere bookstore has become part of this larger trend. Zhang Jieping is in contact with similar projects in Tokyo and San Francisco. She herself recently opened another bookstore in Chiang Mai, Thailand, another destination for Chinese emigration in recent years. Now, it, too, issues Nowhere Republic passports. Leonardo Pape
At first glance, the Dujiangyan Zhongshuge bookshop in Chengdu looks like a cathedral. The two-story book temple has around 80,000 books for sale. It was designed by the Shanghai architecture firm X+Living. But not everything here is real: Printed foil on the upper shelves gives the illusion of a row of book spines. The architects explain that real books would not only be difficult to reach at this height, but also difficult to keep in good condition.
Would you be tempted to get into a robotaxi and drive to your destination without a driver behind the wheel? You may soon have the chance. While Tesla boss Elon Musk presented his Cybercab in the USA a few days ago, the Chinese company Baidu is forging ahead with the international expansion of its Apollo Go robotaxis. The Chinese company pony.ai also aims to bring autonomous taxis to Europe, South Korea and the Middle East. The Chinese company WeRide, on the other hand, has already received approval to test autonomous vehicles in several countries. Jörn Petring has summarized the race for the most successful robot taxi.
The Chinese leadership responded with massive military exercises on Monday to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s speech on National Day last week. The aircraft carrier Liaoning was deployed, and more than 90 fighter jets crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait in one day – more than ever before. David Demes analyzes the broad hybrid threat with which the Chinese leadership is trying to intimidate the people of Taiwan.
Taiwan is also home to the bookstore of former journalist Zhang Jieping, who fled to Taipei to escape political repression in Hong Kong. Her Nowhere bookstore has not only become a gathering spot for Hong Kong exiles, it is also part of a larger movement: In many parts of the world, Chinese emigrants are forming communities to think and create a freer China in exile. In her bookshop, Zhang even issues passports to a “Nowhere Republic,” a fictitious place of longing, writes Leonardo Pape.
Have an enlightening read and a pleasant day,
In the early hours of Monday morning, China launched a large-scale military drill around Taiwan and the outlying islands of Matsu and Dongyin. The exercise, entitled “Joint Sword 2024B,” is a continuation of the eponymous military drill held in May shortly after President Lai took office. Just last week, Taiwanese security authorities had warned that China could use the Taiwanese president’s National Day address on October 10 as a pretext for another military drill.
According to Chinese state television, the drill included exercises simulating a blockade of the island and the rapid overpowering of Taiwanese forces. Fighter jets equipped with live missiles rehearsed attacks against Taiwanese ports and military installations. Wei Cao, a Chinese Air Force fighter pilot, was quoted on state television as saying: “We want to use a language comprehensible for the enemy and warn separatist force in Taiwan that those engaging in separatist activities will cause war, get burned for playing with fire, and bring destruction to themselves.”
Between 05:00 a.m. and 04:30 p.m., Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense counted 125 Chinese aircraft near the island, 90 of which crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the island’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) – a new record. At around 6 p.m. local time, China surprisingly declared the drill over.
However, the Chinese Ministry of Defense emphasized that further exercises may follow. “The People’s Liberation Army’s actions will be pushed further with each ‘Taiwan independence’ provocation until the Taiwan issue is completely resolved,” the Ministry said in a statement.
The aircraft carrier “Liaoning” played a key role in the drill. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense explained at a press conference in Taipei that the movements of the “Liaoning” were being closely monitored. With the deployment of Shenyang J-15 fighter jets stationed on the aircraft carrier, China wanted to show that it is also capable of threatening Taiwan from the sea and thus simultaneously from the east and west, the Ministry said. In addition, the intention is to deny foreign armed forces access to the deployment area.
The Chinese Coast Guard was also heavily involved in the operation. According to state broadcaster CCTV, Coast Guard vessels entered restricted waters near the island of Matsu, which is close to the Chinese coast, to “tear up” boundaries set by Taiwan authorities. However, the ships were intercepted by the Taiwanese Coast Guard.
Four ship formations of the Chinese Coast Guard also sailed around the main island of Taiwan for the first time. Analysts consider this a significant strategic development. “The biggest change this time is the joint operation by the Navy and Coast Guard,” said military strategist Lin Ying-yu on public television station PTS on Monday evening. What China had rehearsed around the island of Kinmen in May, the People’s Liberation Army tried to apply to the main island of Taiwan yesterday, Lin said.
The Chinese Coast Guard posted a picture on its official Weibo account showing the route of the four ships involved in the patrol around Taiwan in the shape of a heart. The accompanying text reads: “Each patrol is in the shape of an ‘I love you’” – a message that underlines China’s goal of not only displaying military power, but also achieving a psychological effect.
In a music video produced specifically for the drill, the Eastern Command and the University of the People’s Liberation Army also sing about watching Taiwan’s east coast from a battleship in 2024. In an animation by the Eastern Command, published during the drill, the Chinese character for “weapon” is made up of a montage of keywords. It contains the names of the last drills, “Joint Sword 2024A” and “Joint Sword 2024B,” as well as the designation “Joint Sword 2024X” – a clear warning to the people of Taiwan that China could launch another drill at any time – all attempts to weaken Taiwan psychologically.
Reactions to the drills quickly followed. The Taiwanese presidential office stressed that China should recognize the reality of the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and respect the Taiwanese people’s choice for a democratic and free way of life. It added that President Lai had already convened a meeting of the National Security Council in the morning to assess the situation.
The Taiwanese Minister for Mainland Affairs, Chiu Chui-cheng, criticized the drills as threatening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He accused China of ignoring the goodwill of the Taiwanese government and the hopes of the people of Taiwan for peace. China’s pursuit of hegemony is the fundamental cause of insecurity in the region, said Chiu.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller expressed serious concern about Chinese military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. “The PRC response with military provocations to a routine annual speech is unwarranted and risks escalation,” Miller said. The US called on China to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further undermine peace and stability in the region.
In a statement, the EU stressed that peace and stability in the region are of strategic importance for regional and global security. Furthermore, the EU declared its direct interest in preserving the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and rejected any unilateral change through force or coercion. It called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid any escalation.
Chinese manufacturers will not surrender the market for autonomous taxis to Elon Musk without a fight. While the Tesla boss presented his Cybercab in the USA a few days ago, the Chinese tech group Baidu is pressing ahead with plans for the international expansion of its Apollo Go robotaxis. The Beijing-based company plans to initially put self-driving vehicles on the roads in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East.
The Wall Street Journal and the Japanese business newspaper Nikkei reported that Baidu was in talks with local companies and regulatory authorities. Baidu’s overseas plans emerged almost at the same time as Tesla’s grand show in Hollywood last Thursday, where the company unveiled the Cybercab to the public for the first time. Although Baidu did not steal the show from its US rival, it did secure some global attention for its own project in its wake.
The timing could also be seen as a challenge from the Chinese to Tesla. Although Baidu has no technological advantage in the upcoming competition with its rival, it may have a time advantage. Unlike Tesla, the company has already gained experience with its robo-taxi service. In August, Apollo Go announced that it operated more than 400 driverless taxis in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. It is the company’s largest fleet in the country.
In the second quarter of this year, Apollo Go completed almost 900,000 trips in China – although the majority still involved a safety driver. The tech company is also working on a new version of its platform for autonomous driving, called Apollo 10.0, which is being developed for a global audience.
At Tesla, on the other hand, there are considerable doubts about the timetable. After all, Musk is known for missing deadlines by a long shot. The billionaire promised investors back in 2019 that the company would have more than one million robotaxis on the road by the following year. This is still not the case. What is clear, however, is that the latest announcements by both companies have brought the introduction of robotaxis into everyday life a little closer.
Other Chinese companies are also forging ambitious plans. Pony.ai, backed by the world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota, and the Saudi state investment fund NEOM, plans to launch autonomous taxis in South Korea, Europe and the Middle East. Pony.ai also collaborates with a Singaporean taxi company to gain a foothold in the local market.
WeRide – another Chinese company with Nissan as an investor – has received approvals to test autonomous vehicles in several countries. For example, the company cooperates with Uber to operate robotaxis in the United Arab Emirates. It is also testing shuttle buses in Singapore. The Chinese providers are also keen to expand overseas, hoping to achieve significantly higher margins for their services there.
The Chinese market is already experiencing a similar dynamic to that of EV manufacturers. Numerous companies compete and offer their services at extremely low prices. In Wuhan, for example, the robotaxis are significantly cheaper than the already very affordable taxis with human drivers. “The primary motivation for expanding overseas is the intense and unhealthy competition in the domestic market,” Qu Ke, an analyst at CCB International, told the Wall Street Journal.
However, the important US market will likely remain closed to Chinese providers. In September, the US Department of Commerce proposed banning Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads. It is considered likely that this plan will be implemented. Tesla is more likely to face competition from other US companies on its own doorstep. Example: Waymo. The company, owned by Google parent Alphabet, already offers autonomous driving services in several cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In China, on the other hand, foreign companies could well have the opportunity to offer self-driving vehicles and taxis as things stand. Very strict data regulations also apply there, and many details remain unclear. Moreover, robotaxis are currently only offered by domestic providers. However, Tesla is confident that it will soon receive approval from the authorities for its self-driving functions. This would also be a first step towards the Cybercab entering the Chinese market at some point in the future.
As far as the design is concerned, the Cybercabs look much more advanced than Baidu’s. The Chinese vehicles have a bulky construction on the roof that houses LIDAR sensors and other hardware. The Cybercab does not have such a structure, as Tesla primarily relies on cameras integrated into the body of its self-driving vehicles. Musk also announced that the vehicles can be charged by induction without cables. However, it remained unclear what the required charging stations would look like and how quickly such an infrastructure could be available.
Analysts expressed disappointment on Thursday that Musk only provided very few details. The Tesla boss indicated that starting next year, self-driving Teslas may no longer need to be monitored by a driver, initially in Texas. However, the robotaxis would still be based on the old Models Y and 3. The robotaxi that Musk drove in resembled a smaller version of a Model 3, but had neither a steering wheel nor pedals.
The new Cybercab is expected to be manufactured by 2027. Apparently, the Tesla taxi will not only function as a service offered by the company itself, but will also be offered for sale for around 30,000 dollars. People could purchase a fleet of 10 to 20 vehicles and, according to Musk, rent them out and manage them “like a shepherd with a flock of sheep.”
Since mid-2022, the Nowhere Bookstore has been located in a side street of the popular Ximending nightlife district in western Taipei. Inside, the bookshelves are lined up close together and are moved aside during events, as there is so little space in the store. But as unassuming as it may seem, the bookstore has become an important platform for political debates and a meeting place for Taiwan’s Hong Kong community in recent years.
Zhang Jieping, founder of Nowhere Bookstore, has taken the plunge into the unknown several times. She originally hails from the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu. She first moved to Guangzhou in southern China for her studies, and from there to nearby Hong Kong. Zhang began a career as a journalist. In 2015, she became editor of the newly founded news platform Initium, with the aim of reaching a broad global audience in the fragmented Chinese media landscape.
At the time, independent media in Hong Kong were already increasingly under attack from the government. After the enactment of the National Security Act in 2020, the situation deteriorated drastically. Initium moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore. In 2021, Zhang Jieping moved to Taiwan and made a fresh start with the Nowhere bookstore.
She came to open the bookshop more by chance, she explains in the podcast bù míngbái bōkè (不明白播客), in which New York Times columnist Yuan Li interviews personalities from the Chinese-speaking world. The podcast, which translates as “Don’t Understand” in English, is censored in China, but is popular among expatriate Chinese. Another emigrant from Hong Kong had already set up the bookshop, but then had to leave Taiwan. Zhang took over the business without further ado and opened the store under a new name.
The Chinese name of the bookshop Fēidì (飛地) literally means exclave, a part of a country within another country. It alludes to the growing community of those who have left China, particularly Hong Kong, for economic and political reasons. Zhang Jieping hopes that people can connect in her bookstore and redefine their relationship with the country they left behind. Many of the books and events in Zhang Jieping’s bookshop focus on the history and society of China and Hong Kong in particular.
The Nowhere Bookstore is a place where visitors can experience a China outside the country’s borders. But at the same time, it forms a new space of its own, a country in the middle of nowhere. The bookstore even issues stylized passports – notebooks with the imprint Fēidì gònghéguó (飛地共和國 – Nowhere Republic).
What Zhang Jieping calls a “new creation of China” is the fact that Chinese-speaking emigrants have founded new communities around the world in recent years. The Nowhere bookstore has become part of this larger trend. Zhang Jieping is in contact with similar projects in Tokyo and San Francisco. She herself recently opened another bookstore in Chiang Mai, Thailand, another destination for Chinese emigration in recent years. Now, it, too, issues Nowhere Republic passports. Leonardo Pape
At first glance, the Dujiangyan Zhongshuge bookshop in Chengdu looks like a cathedral. The two-story book temple has around 80,000 books for sale. It was designed by the Shanghai architecture firm X+Living. But not everything here is real: Printed foil on the upper shelves gives the illusion of a row of book spines. The architects explain that real books would not only be difficult to reach at this height, but also difficult to keep in good condition.
