Named "Ferryman," the small shop is quietly located on Luochuan East Road in Jing'an district, Shanghai. Photo: web

During the Qingming Festival, a coffee shop in Shanghai made it to the hot search list on social media platforms. Named "Ferryman," the small shop is quietly located on Luochuan East Road in Jing'an district, Shanghai, with a small storefront that may not catch your eye at first glance. 

The shop, run by young people, innovatively combines funeral services with coffee, allowing mourners to express their thoughts on life and death, and allowing people to casually discuss the topic of life and death while drinking coffee with strangers. 

The decoration style of the shop is modern, with soft lighting, in stark contrast to the dim, funeral-filled traditional funeral parlors. The shop offers "sour, sweet, bitter, spicy" four-flavor coffee, which is not for sale, but is available in exchange for a story about life and death. 

Xiaolin, the owner of the shop, said: "In addition to those who want to pour out their hearts, we also receive relatives who want to discuss funeral matters in a more relaxed and soothing environment." To the staff in the shop, coffee is just a medium for strangers to come into contact with issues of life after death. They see the small shop more as a "life experience store" - through discussions on life and death, they have more respect for life and more acceptance of death. At the same time, they gain a better understanding of the funeral industry, which they rarely encounter.