Doors open for great vinyl revival

Wang, in his mid-40s, was introduced to music by his parents, who played vinyl records at home. One of his favorite singer-songwriters is the Chinese rock musician Cui Jian, and like many music lovers of his generation, Wang enjoyed going to record shops. It was in these that he spent much of his money, he says.

However, just as CDs all but killed off vinyl and cassettes as mediums for music, online streaming brought on by the internet revolution has virtually put paid to the traditional record shop.

Between 2002 and 2005 in particular, the fall in sales of CDs and other types of musical recordings in China was precipitous, mostly as the result of piracy and online streaming, and the customer base for record shops evaporated as people stopped buying physical records.

Over 15 years Free Sound sold about 300,000 records but last year Wang realized that his number was finally up, and the shop closed its doors for good.

The day that happened, in May, turned into something of a wake as many of the shop's clientele called in to pay their last respects, taking a few records with them, and leaving flowers behind.

"It's a memory many people share," Wang says.

However, any sense of despair these music lovers may have felt that day can be buried for this month Wang will open a new shop called Free Sound not that far from its predecessor. Located in an alley called Bingjiaokou Hutong, it will be bigger than the earlier version, offering space for shoppers and indie singer-songwriters to chat.