Unmarked and tucked away in the basement of a rambling model shop in one of Beijing's more historic districts, Light Gray Life Solutions is not the easiest shop to find.

But perhaps, in the business of selling bottled happiness, there is no need to advertise. News of Light Gray, the secretive purveyor of “spirit bottles”, has spread through Beijing offices, campuses, internet forums and blogs since the devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province on May 12.

Lined up on stark metal shelves under harsh strip-lighting, the “spirit bottles” are simply empty bottles with sentiments such as “Meaningful connections”, “Passion and Patience” and “Calmness” printed on white labels.

They cost from 10 yuan (75p) to 35 yuan.

For Beijing's young city dwellers, struggling with their sorrow at the disaster, “spirit bottles” provide some comfort. The shop's owners face frequent accusations of being confidence tricksters.

But Ling Yu, who runs the business with A Mo, insisted: “We know there is nothing but air in the bottles, and so do our customers. People can put their own problems into them. They can use the bottles to represent whatever they want. In the past couple of weeks we've been selling more than 100 bottles a day.”

The biggest sellers, he said, had been “Courage for change” and “Sense of security”. Other popular bottles contain “Great wisdom”, “Tolerance” and “Unconditional love”.

A 19-year-old student who entered bought a ten yuan bottle of “Good ideas”. “I think the whole of China needs lots of good ideas right now to help the people of Sichuan,” he said. “I also need good ideas, so I will put this on my desk when I study.”

“Some people might think this is just a bottle shop,” said Hua Yuzhou, 32, as she perused the neat rows of glass containers. “But these are not ordinary bottles. If you are depressed and need to cry, or angry and need to vent, these spirit bottles give you the empty space you need. It is a concept that we really need right now.”

The idea came from Mags Hadstrom, a Danish designer who created a “soul market” in Shanghai last summer to remind shoppers of what really mattered in the consumer society.

In two months the market sold more than 8,000 bottles - and became a moneymaker for copycats.

Mr Hadstrom told The Times that he had no idea there was a shop selling his concept in Beijing. “The idea is to spread the spiritual consciousness that these products represent — and they are doing it,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it is in a non-honest way. I guess it is a good picture of how we humans have both sides in us: we wish to change the world, but forget to begin with ourselves.”

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