Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai saw the opening of 396 new retail drugstores last year, an increase of 18 percent from a year before, the largest-ever increase, according to the Shanghai Food and Drug Administrative Bureau yesterday.
Many new drugstores opened in suburban areas, with the number of outlets up by 61 percent in Songjiang District last year and by 33 percent in Qingpu District.
Some 93.3 percent of local residents have access to drugstores within 15 minutes' walk, in line with the statistics for developed countries.
However, one-third of the existing local retail drugstores have reported deficits, with another quarter managing only to break even.