Jinze Town welcomes its newest coffee-shop reading room

Residents and visitors are now able to enjoy a nice time reading at a coffee shop in Dongxi Village of Jinze Town, in Shanghai’s suburban Qingpu District.

The village sits in the east of the ancient town of Jinze. It’s surrounded by water in all directions, with a beautiful and pleasant environment.

The Zeli Coffee Reading Room offers a tranquil atmosphere with a white wall set against a large area of green plants, rustic furniture and sun shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Li Yanli

The space used to be an old farmhouse, but was renovated by its owner into a cafe.

Liu Liu, the owner of the coffee shop, is from central China’s Hunan Province and used to work and live in Shenzhen of southern China’s Guangdong Province.

A few years ago, she first got to know Jinze by chance while taking a trip here and was immediately attracted by the ancient town with its white walls and grey tiles. She decided to quit her job in Shenzhen and come here to start a new life.

“I hope that in addition to enjoying a cup of coffee, visitors can temporarily put down their busy work and free themselves from mobile phones, tablets and other electronic devices when they’re in my shop,” said Liu Liu.

“This is not only a coffee shop, but also a reading room. Reading books can help people relax.”

In the future, she plans to bring in more interactive activities, such as natural dyeing, to offer visitors a better experience.