Fengsheng Bookstore

Fengsheng Bookstore occupies a low gray former warehouse beside Zhongshan Road in Guangrong Village. An ochre curtain hangs over the entrance; mountains rise beyond the roofs and power lines.

Inside, one upholstered chair stands between a broad wooden table and a wall of books. Lin Qing-sheng wants children in the area to remember what it felt like to be in such a room.

They do not have to buy anything to enter. Lin decided against a minimum spend because it would keep some children outside. When they come in, they often reach for ghost stories and comics. He does not redirect them toward the books adults might consider more worthwhile.

The current 沃土計畫 goes one step further. A child chooses a book and takes it home; the programme pays.

Lin is a two-time Golden Bell radio award recipient who left mainstream broadcasting and based his work in Guangrong, also known as Rinahem. The bookstore did not replace that work: he still produces audio, podcasts, and radio programmes. In one photograph from the shop, he speaks into a handheld microphone in a bright striped shirt and hat.

He calls the shop a 無害的空間—a space intended to do no harm, independent of powerful commercial interests, where people can gather and get something moving in the community. During a recent festival visit, a fighter jet passed overhead and interrupted everyone inside. Everyone carried on after the noise passed.

Lin says the bookstore does not support him financially; outside production work helps pay for it. Visitors can enter without spending, and the shop also sells books. Buying a book helps keep the room open.

The current 打開花東 micro-narrative exhibition runs at Fengsheng through September 17. The bookstore is open four afternoons each week. If you find a book you want, ask the staff.