102 HANCHAO LU nicknamed"husband and wife stores"(fugi laopo dian)(I-7), similar in meaning to America's"mom and pop stores No matter how obscure these businesses were, tobacco-paper stores enjoyed great popularity among Shanghai people. In the early 1930s, Shanghai had at least 1, 500 such stores(Shanghai fengtu 1932: 31), and"typically every entrance of a lilong has a tobacco-paper store"(Sbebui ribao, August 15, 1936). Their sundry goods were the small items needed by every household: tobacco, cigarettes, matches, needles thread, soap, incense(for religious worship), candles, mosquito coil incense, cooling ointment, envelopes, pencils, rubber erasers, pins, clips, batteries, hairpins, let paper, toothpaste, candies, cookies ry fruits ping-pong balls and paddles, toys, playing cards, kites, calendars, and Chinese New Year's pictures. In fact, the list could be doubled or tripled because many of these were found in these stores(1-7, I-11; Shanghai fengtu 1932 l a publ: n ah layed items had a few selections in each category. These commodities were neatly di on the congested store shelves inside the shop windows and on the walls currency exchange, postal service( stamps and postbox only),an one Tiger Stoves"(laobuzao)and Sesame-Cake Stores Most lilong houses did not have hot water facilities; either the household made hot water itself, using a kettle, or it bought hot water at what Shanghai people called the"tiger stove, "that is, a professional hot-water service that was one of the most common stores in Shanghais residential areas. The hot-water stores not only provided hot water but often became community centers for the neighborhood: they served as teahouses and bathhouses for the residents and were conveniently located next to a snack shop and sometimes a wineshop The laohuzao usually was a small store facing the street or an alleyway. Inside the store a hugh stove (the so-called"tiger stove") heated water twenty-four hours that never closed their doors year around. Every household in the neighborhood was their customer; especially in Shanghai's severe winter, cold weather drove people to the laohuzao and the evening often found a queue in front of the stores Since hot water was in constant supply at the store, placing a few tables and benches next to the"tiger stove, " could establish a simple but convenient teahouse In the evening, by stacking the tables and benches in the corner of the room and placing a few wooden bathtubs and a cotton curtain, the teahouse could be quickly turned into a crude but convenient bathhouse(I-6) Hot-water stores spread all over Shanghai and enjoyed increasing popularity in the Republican period. In 1912, there were 159 hot-water stores in Shanghai, by 1928, 1, 123 stores, and by 1936, well over 2,000(Sheng 1930; Shebui ribao, June 7, 1936). The stores were particularly common in the lilong neighborhoods. The Western-style houses of the city often had heating facilities at home, so the stores were less common in those neighborhoods. In straw-hut shantytowns, the ramshackle condition of the dwellings did not allow building tiger stove"facilities(Lu forthcoming) The teahouse service of these stores deserves some further discussion. The teahouse has long been associated with traditional Chinese urban life. Although the import102 HANCHAO LU nicknamed "husband and wife stores" (fuqi laopo dian) (I-7), similar in meaning to America's "mom and pop stores." No matter how obscure these businesses were, tobacco-paper stores enjoyed great popularity among Shanghai people. In the eariy 1930s, Shanghai had at least 1,500 such stores (Shanghai fengtu 1932:31), and "typically every entrance of a lilong has a tobacco-paper store" (Shehui ribao, August 15, 1936). Their sundry goods were the small items needed by every household: tobacco, cigarettes, matches, needles, thread, soap, incense (for religious worship), candles, mosquito coil incense, cooling ointment, envelopes, pencils, rubber erasers, pins, paper clips, batteries, hairpins, string, shoelaces, toilet paper, toothpaste, candies, cookies, crackers, dry fruits, ping-pong balls and paddles, toys, playing cards, kites, calendars, and Chinese New Year's pictures. In fact, the list could be doubled or tripled because many of these items had a few selections in each category. These commodities were neatly displayed on the congested store shelves inside the shop windows and on the walls. In addition, currency exchange, postal service (stamps and postbox only), and a public telephone were found in these stores (1-7, I- 1 1; Shanghai fengtu 1932: 3 1). "Tiger Stoves" (Iaohuzao) and Sesame-Cake Stores Most lilong houses did not have hot water facilities; either the household made hot water itself, using a kettle, or it bought hot water at what Shanghai people called the "tiger stove," that is, a professional hot-water service that was one of the most common stores in Shanghai's residential areas. The hot-water stores not only provided hot water but often became community centers for the neighborhood: they served as teahouses and bathhouses for the residents and were conveniently located next to a snack shop and sometimes a wineshop. The laohuzao usually was a small store facing the street or an alleyway. Inside the store a hugh stove (the so-called "tiger stove") heated water twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Perhaps the laohuzao were the only stores in Shanghai that never closed their doors year around. Every household in the neighborhood was their customer; especially in Shanghai's severe winter, cold weather drove people to the laohuzao and the evening often found a queue in front of the stores. Since hot water was in constant supply at the store, placing a few tables and benches next to the "tiger stove," could establish a simple but convenient teahouse. In the evening, by stacking the tables and benches in the corner of the room and placing a few wooden bathtubs and a cotton curtain, the teahouse could be quickly turned into a crude but convenient bathhouse (1-6). Hot-water stores spread all over Shanghai and enjoyed increasing popularity in the Republican period. In 1912, there were 159 hot-water stores in Shanghai, by 1928, 1,123 stores, and by 1936, well over 2,000 (Sheng 1930; Shehui ribao, June 27, 1936). The stores were particularly common in the lilong neighborhoods. The Western-style houses of the city often had heating facilities at home, so the stores were less common in those neighborhoods. In straw-hut shantytowns, the ramshackle condition of the dwellings did not allow building "tiger stove" facilities (Lu forthcoming). The teahouse service of these stores deserves some further discussion. The teahouse has long been associated with traditional Chinese urban life. Although the importance