The first official Tintin store in China has opened — in Shanghai! Finding the Tintin Shop is an adventure itself to a quiet part of Jing'an district. Opened two days ago, its already gone viral on Douban, and fans from all over town have been flocking to the store. How is it?
The Adventures of Tintin was published in mainland China in the 1980s, but the cartoon wasn’t played on national TV until 2004. But Tintin, Belgium’s most famous boy reporter has a much deeper bond with Shanghai. During his adventure here back in 1934, he made friends with a boy named Chang Chong-Chen. Chang is based on a real friend of Hergé's, the renowned Shanghainese sculptor and painter Zhang Chongren. You might have seen his bronze sculpture of composer Nie Er at the park at the intersection of Fuxing Zhong Lu and Huaihai Lu.
Georges Prosper Remi (Hergé) and Zhang Chongren
Zhang had a great influence on Hergé while he was creating The Blue Lotus, which is widely regarded as a turning point of Hergé’s career, not only in terms of his artistic style but also his ideology.
The Blue Lotus is the main theme of the shop. From a customized paper lamp at the door to a dedicated shelf displaying all the character figures of this iconic comic series, it's all here, including the beautiful Blue Lotus vase of the “Icons” series, which Tintin pokes his head out of to watch opium traffickers. Despite the small space, a large collection of official merchandise and art books are available at the shop. Quite a few of them are limited editions. The pricing is very similar to their shops in Europe: 200rmb-280rmb for adult-sized T-shirts, and figurines from one hundred to over a thousand.
At the shop, I met owner Philippe Wang, who helped bring Tintin to the Chinese audience over a decade ago. He shared some of Tintin’s future plans, such as talks and exhibitions, as well as an official opening in April with Zhang Chongren’s daughter.
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The Tintin Shop, 805 Chang'an Lu, near Puji Lu. Open 10am to 6pm.
