Jetlag Books Friendship Store / Studio NOR

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1. Window and Landmark - The Beijing Friendship Store, located in the First Embassy District along the eastern extension of Chang'an Avenue, was the first large-scale special supply store established in China to serve foreign diplomatic personnel. As a unique window for Sino-foreign exchanges during the planned economy era, it gradually opened to the public only since the late 1980s. A symbolic landmark to generations of Beijing citizens, the store failed to adjust itself to the new Chinese consumerist market after the millennium, and its decline led to a comprehensive renovation started in 2023, in which the former service backyard was transformed into a commercial park, with Jetlag Books being the sole bookstore tenant.