CRI听力: Popular Birthday Gift: Birthday Newspapers

Many people have to rack their brains to come up with original birthday presents for friends and family. But one kind of birthday gift is quite novel: The birthday newspaper is making these tough decisions a little easier.

Let's take a closer look with reporter Liu Min.

Reporter:

Office worker Chen Gang rushed to a special gift shop right after work in Fujian Province. His wife's birthday is just a few days away. In the past, he has usually bought flowers or a mobile phone for his wife, but this time, he wants something unique. He spent some time searching online, and came across the birthday newspaper shop.

"It's quite tasteless to choose a mobile phone or MP3 as gifts now I think. I noticed this kind of birthday newspaper online. It could be a good choice."

Lin Heping is the owner of the shop. Besides selling online, his shop is also open to visitors. He says his grandpa was in charge of circulating newspapers when he was a kid. Since then, he developed a habit of collecting newspapers. He usually goes to recycling centers to collect old newspapers for fun.

"My earliest collection is the Star Newspaper published in Xiamen in 1937. I have all kinds of newspapers in my stock room."(www.hXen.com)

But he never thought this hobby could become a business. He spent all his savings collecting these newspapers, and then got the idea of selling the papers as birthday gifts.

"The birthday newspaper is the copy published and distributed on the same day the person was born. It has a record of what happened exactly on that same day, which has a special meaning to the person."

Accompanied by a gift box and birthday card, this special newspaper gift can be mailed to the customers. Lin Heping says now he has accumulated many customers.

"Most of my customers buy this as gifts for their friends, some for their parents and family members. Some also want to buy for themselves as collectibles as they think it quite worthwhile to preserve."

Very soon, Lin Heping found that he was not the first in the domestic market to come up with the idea. Some companies based in Beijing and Shanghai had already started such businesses and opened branch stores on Taobao.com. In order to compete with them, he scoured the libraries, archives, universities and colleges to build a comprehensive collection that now boasts over 300 thousand editions. He has also established an online store to attract customers from other provinces.

"I hope that these old newspapers no longer need to stay in the dark stockroom, but can make a difference, bring happiness to people who I don't even know."

There are several major birthday newspaper Web sites in China. The prices vary based on the newspaper's date of publication. Those printed in the 1930s are priced as high as 888 yuan per edition, and those published in the 1990s are 108 yuan, with extra charges for additional packaging.