View source for Friendship store

{{Short description|Chinese store chain}}
{{unreferenced|date=October 2015}}
{{Chinese|order=st|s=友谊商店|t=友誼商店|p=Yǒuyì Shāngdiàn|w=Yu-i Shang-tian}}
[[File:Guangzhou Friendship Store in 1982.jpg|thumb|Guangzhou Friendship Store in 1982]]
[[File:Guangzhou friendship store times square branch.JPG|thumb|[[Guangzhou]] Friendship Store]]
A '''friendship store''' ({{zh|s=友谊商店}}) is a [[Politics of the People's Republic of China|state-run]] store in the [[People's Republic of China|People's Republic of China (PRC)]], which initially sold exclusively to foreign visitors and tourists, [[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 Union|Soviet]] experts assisting China's economic development. The stores sold Western, imported items, such as [[peanut butter]] and [[List of products manufactured by The Hershey Company|Hershey bar]]s, as well as high-quality Chinese art and crafts. Prices were considerably higher than those in the country of origin but, because the stores operated as a [[monopoly]] for imported items, buyers had no other choice. The old friendship stores accepted only [[foreign exchange certificate]]s as currency. Items for sale included uncensored copies of Western literature such as ''[[The New York Times]]'', so customers had to present a foreign passport to the guards to be permitted entry. Often crowds of people would look through the windows to see what was for sale. 

The abolition of [[foreign exchange certificate]]s in the early 1990s made friendship stores largely redundant, with foreign visitors being allowed to hold ordinary [[renminbi]] in the PRC. Most stores have now closed, but a few remain, most notably in [[Beijing]], [[Shanghai]], and [[Guangzhou]].

==Modern friendship stores==
The [[Beijing]] store has a [[Starbucks]], [[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{{when|date=May 2024}}, with the friendship store being replaced by a more modern [[shopping center]], offices, and a [[Conrad Hotels|Conrad Hotel]].

There are also two friendship stores in [[Shanghai]], one in the city center and one in [[Hongqiao Subdistrict, Shanghai|Hongqiao]]{{dn|date=May 2025}}.

The friendship store in [[Guangzhou]] has developed into a listed company. Apart from the original store opposite the [[The Garden Hotel, Guangzhou|Garden Hotel]], it now has five branch stores in Guangzhou, [[Foshan]] and [[Nanning]].

==See also==
*[[Politics of the People's Republic of China]]
*[[Dollar store (Cuba)]]
*[[Intershop]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051122231246/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]

{{Hard currency shops in socialist countries}}

[[Category:Hard currency shops in socialist countries]]
[[Category:Economic history of the People's Republic of China]]