The city's only 24-hour bookstore has stopped homeless people from staying in the store overnight after it became a late night rest stop for the down and out, local media reported Monday.

Popular Bookmall on Fuzhou Road in Huangpu district began Friday requiring visitors to sign up for special passes to enter the store from 10 pm to 10 am each day, according to a report in the Oriental Morning Post. To obtain a pass, a visitor has to apply with their State identification card. "It is an effort to stop homeless people from sleeping inside at night," said Wu Jian, the store manager. "Some of them bring blankets, eat food and even drink alcohol here. It has disturbed our customers."

Since the store opened in March, more than a dozen of these people used to stay in the store each day after midnight.

"No homeless people show up anymore," Wu told the Global Times.

The store also refuses passes to homeless people who have frequently shown up to the store in the past, Wu said. Store employees will revoke the passes of visitors who are found sleeping more than three times. "We understand that visitors who doze off while sitting are just tired, but those that lie down on the floor are not welcome here," Wu said.

In the afternoon Monday, several people had curled up in the corners of the store to take a nap. They refused to comment about the store's new rules.