The Only Chinese Bookstore in D.C. w/ Yu Miao

Forced out of Shanghai, JF Books builds a new community of readers in America

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Jul 15, 2025

Since its opening in Washington D.C. in September 2024 as the only Chinese-language bookstore in the area, JF Books has rapidly become a cultural symbol and spotlighted for its role in facilitating diasporic Chinese community dialogue on issues ranging from social movements, human rights, Hong Kong, Taiwan, U.S.-China relations, and more. It joins the landscape of many other diasporic Chinese community organizations, many of which have sprung up since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Monitor interviewed the bookstore’s founder, Yu Miao, to talk about the history, present, and visions for the bookstore’s future.

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Diego Ge: Can you tell us about the history of JF Books in Shanghai?

Yu Miao: The bookstore was originally founded by Mr. Yan Bofei, formerly a scholar at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, specializing in philosophy. After the political events of 1989, he chose to leave the Academy. As a scholar in the humanities, he eventually opened a bookstore. He had just experienced the wave of intellectual liberation in the 1980s, so he saw a real vitality and demand in society for book-based knowledge sharing and culture.

He had good foresight—the bookstore was indeed very well-received. At one point, there were as many as eight branches, all in Shanghai. But later, with the rapid rise of housing prices and rent in Shanghai, as well as the impact of online book sales on physical bookstores, it became increasingly difficult to sustain operations.

By the end of 2012, he was preparing to shut down the store. That’s when we met. I expressed my wish to keep the bookstore running in Shanghai, and he felt reassured, so he handed it over to me completely. I took over everything, including its operations and debt.

We then relocated the store to the Shanghai Library metro station—this became our last remaining location in Shanghai. We kept it running for another five years, during which we built the store into a kind of public space. Each week, we held three to four events: book clubs, lectures, small music concerts, independent documentary screenings. These drew in many young people, teachers, scholars, and urban intellectuals who were eager to attend the events.

But as this public space matured and its influence grew, the government came to see it as a potential troublemaker in the cultural and political realms. In late January 2018, they forcibly shut it down.

DG: How did the bookstore end up in the United States?

YM: It wasn’t really the bookstore that moved. After the Shanghai store closed, I decided to come to the U.S. to study. In 2019, I applied to a political science master's program at the American University in DC. After that, I enrolled in another program in English language and literature. All that’s to say--I’ve remained in the university space since moving.

There is not a lot of opportunities to access Chinese books here. In DC, there isn't a single Chinese bookstore. Amazon barely carries Chinese titles. It became difficult for me to access Chinese books like I could back home—especially newly published ones. That’s when the idea came up: why not open a Chinese bookstore here?

At first, I considered New York because there’s a larger Chinese community. But after scouting the market, I found that costs associated with opening a bookstore in New York City was too expensive. Since I was already living in DC, it made more sense to start here. Even if the Sinophone reader population is small here, I believed that it could still sustain just one Chinese bookstore in the city.

DG: After opening the bookstore in DC, have you received any pressure from the Chinese Government or Embassy?

YM: Not yet. We’re actually located close to the Chinese Embassy and Ambassador Xie Feng’s residence. But so far, no one has come in and identified themselves as Chinese government agents, and we haven’t received any threats—official or otherwise.

There was one incident where our large front window was smashed one night. We reported it to the police, but without security cameras outside, it was hard to determine what happened. We haven’t drawn any conclusions from that.

DG: Have public events like lectures or discussions run smoothly in DC?

YM: Very smoothly—much more than I expected. Early on, I even asked a college student—a very strong guy—to volunteer at events just in case someone tried to disrupt things. But that’s never happened. Our events have gone well; the audience listens carefully and asks sincere questions.

DG: What’s the biggest difference between running a bookstore in China versus the United States? And what are the main challenges in each country?

YM: The biggest difference is that in China, the books we can choose from are limited to what’s been officially approved for publication. There is always a sense of restriction in terms of what we can sell and put on display.

Here, we can freely curate our selection of books. We stock books from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Chinese-language books published by Chinese-American publishers, and English-language books on China and Asia—often written by Asian-American authors. If we want to focus on a theme like “China and Asia,” we can approach it from multiple directions. That would be the most significant difference.

The biggest challenge in China is the ever-present political pressure. If we create a themed table, say on constitutionalism or democratic thought, authorities might question our intentions. If our events involve sensitive topics or speakers, they might get shut down before they happen. It feels like an invisible eye is always watching, and your movements are constrained. The more tension there is between you and the system, the tighter the net becomes. It definitely felt suffocating

Here, our primary challenge is fundraising. We’re established as a nonprofit corporation here in the United States, so in addition to book sales, we rely on donations. Fundraising is a specialized skill, and we’re still learning and exploring different ways to fundraise.

DG: How do you currently raise funds?

YM: Right now, we’ve launched a monthly donation program with two tiers: $29/month and $99/month. Members receive discounts on books and access to special events. We haven’t publicized the program a lot, so growth in membership has been slow. We haven’t tried things like fundraising galas or themed campaigns yet, but we might.

DG: Let’s talk a little bit about the events you host at JF Books, back in Shanghai and here in DC. Have you noticed a difference between the audience of the events in Shanghai and DC, in terms of their politics, preferences and composition?

YM: There’s definitely a difference. In Shanghai, our audience included students, teachers, white-collar urbanites, and intellectuals. We didn’t design our events based on audience taste, but rather on what we thought were important societal issues—often ones that couldn’t be avoided in an authoritarian context.

These were frequently sensitive topics. We invited scholars with insight and a willingness to speak publicly. Readers appreciated this because open, high-quality discussions were rare. They didn’t feel pressured attending our events—because we carried the risk.

In DC, most of our events focus on Chinese and Asian affairs. Our speakers include scholars and writers whose work deals with China’s past, present, and future—its relationship with the U.S. and the world. Our audience includes students from nearby universities (GWU, Johns Hopkins, for example), professors, and think tank researchers. Many are not Chinese. In fact, more of our lectures are now in English than in Chinese.

Some younger Chinese attendees here worry about repercussions when returning to China. Some wear masks to events. We make sure cameras only face the speakers—not the audience—to give them some peace of mind.

In contrast, attendees in Shanghai weren’t as worried about personal consequences; they knew Jifeng would bear the brunt. Here, it’s the attendees—especially those planning to return to China—who feel the risk.

DG: Have you experienced any direct interference related to your events or speakers?

YM: Yes. One speaker from the mainland got a call the day after we posted our event poster, telling him not to participate. This kind of thing used to happen in Shanghai. It was the first time we saw it happen here. He canceled, and we had to post a notice saying the event was “regrettably cancelled due to circumstances” (因故无奈取消)—a phrase we used to use often in Shanghai.

DG: Any particularly memorable moments at the DC bookstore?

YM: Many. The neighborhood has been incredibly supportive. Some people saw media coverage and came in to express encouragement. One young woman from the German Embassy told us her father had read a Spiegel article about us and told her to visit.

Some former readers of Jifeng in Shanghai have come from across America, from New York to South Carolina—some even brought old Jifeng pins. Many shared personal stories of how the bookstore impacted their lives. Many people were also interested in participating in the public space that we are facilitating.

One donor gave us his entire collection of 9,000 books. We had originally planned to use the basement for tea or coffee, but we scrapped that plan to create a secondhand book section instead. Many books were rare publications from the 1940s and ’50s, from both mainland and Taiwan.

DG: Did the Trump Presidency affect your operations in DC?

YM: Yes. After Trump’s election, I felt that the whole city was enveloped in a heavy atmosphere. People were down. There was one time, a white woman came in the store and said browsing our store lifted her spirits more than traveling.

Our professors were emotionally affected too. One couldn’t finish class, saying he wasn’t in the mood. Many of my friends had also lost their jobs—at outlets like VOA, RFA, and even in federal agencies like the FDA. Some had to move farther from DC to lower their costs of living. Two of our monthly donors emailed us, saying that they could no longer donate because they were unemployed. Of course, we completely understand; but the pressure is definitely there.

We also lost a partnership with a public institution that had been co-hosting events with us. They used to pay a few thousand dollars per month, which was vital income for us. After budget cuts, the collaboration ended. We had to cut a staff position as a result.

So yes, Trump’s presidency had real, material effects on us.

DG: What are your plans for the bookstore’s future?

YM: We’ve already launched an online store to ship books nationwide. We’re also expanding our digital public space—uploading recordings of our events to YouTube, and posting on platforms like X, Instagram, and Substack.

We’re developing a bilingual podcast, initially Chinese-focused, aimed at younger voices—creators just starting out. We want to talk with them, support them, and help them be seen. (Monitor’s Note: the first episode of the JF Pod is out now, linked here).

As for opening another location—maybe Boston or New York in the future, but we’re not ready yet.

The Monitor

The Only Chinese Bookstore in D.C. w/ Yu Miao

Forced out of Shanghai, JF Books builds a new community of readers in America

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