Happiness Exchange Shop, Guangzhou's first store for exchanging second-hand items, has opened in Yulei community, Tiyuxi road.

According to Lun Zi, owner of the store, clothes, shoes and toys will not be accepted for health reasons, and antique or luxury items are also non-exchangeable due to price estimation difficulties. The world has no garbage, only misplaced resources, he says. Lun Zi says that the difference between taking an item to the store and sending it to the garbage tip is that one offers a rebirth of the resource while the other brings the item’s life to an end. .

Four or five items are exchanged in the store within one day. The elderly often look for something modern while young people prefer retro and vintage items.

Shopkeeper, Lun Zi, arranges his exchangeable goods in his second-hand shop on Oct 22, 2012 in Tianhe district, Guangzhou city. [Photo/CFP]

An old radio and speaker at the second-hand exchange shop on Oct 22, 2012 in Tianhe district, Guangzhou city. [Photo/CFP]