At the foot of the Bayi Bridge on Middle Furong Road stands a seventeen-story fortress of cement and river pebbles. Built in 1992, the Changsha Fireworks Building originally dominated the skyline as the city's tallest structure. The state-owned Hunan Firecrackers and Fireworks Import and Export Company funded the project heavily, pouring a complete shear wall framework that rendered the corporate dormitory virtually indestructible.

The exterior retains its original mosaic tiles, while distinctive circular windows punctuate the elevator halls. Inside, the thick concrete walls initially created highly enclosed, light-tight apartments. As the state-owned economy shifted, the fireworks company declined. Younger workers moved away, leaving the corridors to aging retirees and a new wave of urban renters. Up on the communal rooftop, residents still gather to dry their clothes in the open air, their daily routines softening the brutalist architecture.

In 2015, architect Cao Pu confronted the heavy concrete of Room 1703, a sixty-square-meter top-floor unit. To make the dark space habitable, his design team systematically bored through the solid shear walls. They installed large French windows, allowing sunlight to flood across pine bookshelves and carefully curated volumes. This physical intervention birthed Reedom Bookstore, an independent cultural salon founded by local poets and artists. Today, the scent of paper and ink now fills the air, accompanied by the quiet rustle of turning pages.