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community Scmp World 2026-04-24

Shanghai Grandma Maintains Public Phone Booth for 33 Years

Shen Yuxiu, a grandmother in Shanghai, has managed the city's last staffed public telephone booth for three decades. She maintains the service daily, despite the booth's location connecting major tourist spots.


A Shanghai grandmother has been nicknamed the “telephone booth princess” for persisting in her post as a public phone booth manager for 33 years. Shen Yuxiu, who is in her 80s, manages the city’s last staffed booth. She looks after two very old landline phones. Everyday she arrives at 9am and stays until 8pm. Despite the fact that the booth is located on Fuzhou Road, which connects Shanghai’s two hottest tourist spots, The Bund and People’s Square, Shen said that she only earns two yuan (3 US...

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