When most people think of the Mission District, China is one of the last places that crosses their minds. For many China-watchers and scholars though, a little storefront near the end of 24th Street has long held great significance. 

China Books and Periodicals has been selling materials from and about mainland China for 35 years, 29 of them at the store's current location at 2929 24th Street, near Alabama Street. For the last several years the retail portion of the store had been closed and used for storing materials sold through the mail to customers and other outlets, but on September 30 the doors were re-opened to the public. 

Throughout the United States' long and sometimes tense relationship with China, many Americans have known very little about the country that holds one quarter of the world's population. Henry Noyes, born in China in 1910 of American missionary parents, opened China Books to promote understanding between the two nations by providing information about China to the American reading public. 

For years after the Chinese Revolution ended in 1950, China was a virtually closed society. Few western journalists had access to China, and many Americans held strong suspicions about the country and its intentions toward the rest of the world. 

In 1960, China Books became one of the few sources in the U.S. for books from China. While the U.S. was gripped by the Cold War hysteria, Noyes caught flack from some conservatives, and some shipments of materials were seized by U.S. customs agents. 

In the later 1960s, however, American students opposed to the Vietnam War became increasingly interested in China, and "Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong," Mao's "Little Red Book," became a bestseller. In a few years, the store sold over a million copies. 

In 1971, Noyes' son Chris, now the president, was the first American businessman to be in vited to the Canton Trade Fair, where he met with the publishers of books he had been importing more than a decade. The visits was just months before President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China, and rare film footage shot by Chris in the Chinese countryside aired on U.S. television news broadcasts when he returned. 

"People were shocked when Chris came back alive," laughed Noyes. "They were surprised to see pictures with smiling faces."

These days, China is a world power and a major U.S. trading partner. Thousands of Chinese Americans have strong family ties that stretch across the Pacific, and thousands more Americans visit China every year as tourists. Today, books about international trade, travel, language and culture, cooking, and traditional Chinese medicine are hot sellers. 

"The interest in China has grown tremendously," said Noyes. "There have been amazing changes in [Chinese] society relations, and in the role that women play." 

In addition to books and magazines, China Books now sells computer software programs with Chinese characters, and high-profile banks and firms doing business around the Pacific Rim are regular customers. 

Mao's Little Red Book is still popular, though it is now printed in Hong Kong, China's capitalist neighbor. The store's catalog now lists catalog now lists a new item that's sure to be popular–a computer mouse pad, featuring the late chairman Mao's likeness.

Relations with China have come a long way, but there's still a lot for the two counties to learn about each other, said the younger Noyes. 

"As the U.S.-China relationship continues, this country will probably have an advantage over any other country," he said. "But there will probably be a lot of ups and downs in the relationship."

Henry Noyes said he learned long ago how important it was for people to understand each other. As a boy in China, other children called him "little foreign devil," while back in the states he was called "ching ching Chinaman."

I've never called kids anything except their names," he said softly.

In 1989, China Books published Noyes' biography, "China Born," a detailed account of his childhood in China and life as a maverick book seller. Over the years, Noyes said he had felt satisfaction being somewhere between American and Chinese cultures.

"I'm happy to play a role in the relationship between two very great peoples," he said. "Hopefully, it will bring people together."