Books by the Yard

For regular visitors to Beijing, one of the noticeable changes in the last number of years is the gradual westernizing of its retail and public services. Each year the city more and more resembles other global capitals, functioning to serve its many and diverse international and local interests, where travellers from abroad increasingly feel at home in its hotels, cafes and shopping malls.

But for the first-time visitor, Beijing sparkles like an unknown precious jewel of the orient, a composite of ancient and new in perfect partnership, to be unravelled and understood. From the mysteries of its imperial past, preserved behind the fortified battlements of the Forbidden City, to the enchanting hutong and siheyuan, the intimate courtyard quadrangles of Chinese folklore, hidden down leafy laneways and home to hundreds of years of Chinese domestic life, Beijing is not a city to be flicked over in a couple of pages of pocket guidebook. As with a glorious and sacred text, it is a city worth study.

It is fortunate then that bookshops and places to read have sprung up all over the city, in handy locations and in all shapes and sizes, Beijing's bookshops now have areas reserved just for sitting and reading and places serving  warm drinks and food to stave off winter's chill.

Chaoyang
In the east of the city, convenient to most city-centre hotels, the Yansha Tushu Tiandi bookshop, on the fifth floor of the Lufthansa Shopping Center, offers history books on Beijing that double-up as perfect travel gifts. Take a look at: A Glimpse of Old China, China Pictorial Publishing House (180 yuan); Celebrated Residences of Old Beijing (78 yuan); The Invisible Palace, box set (180 yuan). Around the corner on the ground floor, the Kempinski Hotel's bookshop at Liangmaqiao Lu has an exhaustive international travel book selection and some fascinating, inexpensive postcards of old Beijing.

Not far by taxi, the bookshop at The Friendship Store on Jianguomenwai Dajie has city maps and guidebooks from 40 yuan to 200 yuan.

Around lunchtime, drop into Le Petit Gourmand on the third floor of the Tong Li Shopping Mall, just off Sanlitun Bar Street, a cafe with excellent food and rows of books to browse while eating. Modelled on a membership library, this concept was first developed in Beijing by The Bookworm, which is now at a new location nearby on Sanlitun Nanlu. It is in full swing all hours of the day, with Internet access, great coffee and delicious snacks and thousands of titles to choose from. In both locations, a small number of books are also for sale. At The Bookworm, pick up a copy of Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch, the latest title from Dai Sijie, a celebrated Chinese-born filmmaker and novelist and author of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, published by Alfred A. Knopf (185 yuan).

Wangfujing
Near Tian'anmen Square, Wangfujing Dajie offers excellent reading resources at three locations on this busy pedestrian street. At the newly opened Scholar Books Store on the fourth floor of the Sun Dong An Mall, a wide range of Chinese and English texts are available in very comfortable surroundings with refreshments available from an attentive staff. At the south end of Wangfujing Dajie, the Wangfujing Bookstore's English Section on the third floor arguably offers the best selection of fiction on Chinese themes in the city. But walk to the other end of the street, to the north, and check out the Wangfujing Foreign Language Bookstore for superb language texts for learning Mandarin, as well as maps, Chinese history books and coffee-table books on Chinese art.

Xidan
Heading west from Tian'anmen, the Xidan Book Building, two kilometres from Wangfujing on Xi Chang'an Jie, is a book extravaganza with English and Chinese titles spread over six floors. The area also offers interesting clothing and technology markets and is immensely popular with young Chinese.

Liulichang
This is a good point to mention the art books available at the Liulichang art and antiques market. The China Bookstore offers an incredible selection of Chinese art books, including titles on calligraphy and photography. Pick up some unusual, well-priced curios while you are in the area.

798 Arts District
Back-tracking for a moment, the 798 Arts District in Dashanzi, just off Jiuxianqiao Lu on the eastside of the city, offers an unparalleled opportunity to become familiar with Chinese contemporary art. Bookshops in the district may serve as perfects gifts and reading material. Check out the Art Bookshop at the 798 Gallery Space.

Haidian
In Haidian, in western Beijing, where the majority of the student population lives and studies, bookshops proliferate. Catch a glimpse of international culture at work with Chinese and foreign students filling out the floor space of the area's cafes and bookshops. Check out the Haidian Book City on Haidian Xidajie, open daily between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

While this is by no means an exhaustive list, it does give a reader an idea of what's out there. Don't forget the National Library of China on Zhongguancun Nandajie in Haidian for more academic interests (and a great foreign magazine section) and Embassy libraries (check out the listings below!).

LISTINGS - December 2005 - Books and Libraries, Beijing - BTM

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Chaoyang
The Friendship Store Bookstore
17 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District
Open: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Tel: +86 10 6500 3311

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The Bookworm
Building 4, Sanlitun Nanlu, Chaoyang District
Open: 9 a.m.-1 a.m.
Tel: + 86 10 6586 9507
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Kempinski Hotel's Bookstore
Ground floor, Kempinski Hotel, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
Open: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Tel: +86 10 6465 3388

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Yansha Tushu Tiandi
Fifth floor, Lufthansa Shopping Center, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
Open: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Tel: +86 10 6465 1188

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Wangfujing
Scholar Books
Fourth Floor, Sun Dong An Mall, Wangfujing Dajie
Open: 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Tel: +86 10 6512 5722

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Wangfujing Bookstore
Wangfujing (south end of the street)
Open: 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Tel: +86 10 6525 2592

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Wangfujing Foreign Language Bookstore
Wangfujing to the north end of the street
Open: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Daily
Tel: + 86 10 6512 6903
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Xicheng
Xidan Book Building
17 Xichang'an Street, Xicheng District
Open: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tel: +86 10 6606 7733

Sanwei Bookstore
60 Fuxingmennei Dajie, Xicheng District
Open: 9:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Tel: +86 10 6601 3204

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Haidian
Feng Ru Song Bookstore
1/2 block east of Peking University's South Gate
Open: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Tel: + 86 10 6262 5939

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Haidian Foreign Languages Bookstore
At the Zhongguo Haidian Tushucheng, south of Beijing University
Open: 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Tel: +86 10 6252 9345 
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Haidian Book City
36, Haidian Xidajie, Haidian District
Open: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Daily
Tel: + 86 10 6262 1606

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The Beijing Language and Culture University Press Bookstore
Chengfu Lu, Haidian District
Open: Weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tel: +86 10 8230 3653

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ART
The China Bookstore
Chinese art books, books on calligraphy, post cards, and photography books.
115 Dongxi Liulichang
Open: 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Tel: + 86 10 6317 5607

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798 Art Bookshop
Off Jiuxianqiao Lu, Dashanzi
Open: 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Daily
Tel: +86 10 6438 4862, 6437 6248

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Libraries
National Library of China
33 Zhongguancun Nandajie
Tel: +86 10 8854 4114, 8854 5426

Australian Embassy
21, Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District
Open: 9 a.m.-Noon, 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Daily
Tel: +86 10 6532 2331

Canadian Embassy
19, Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District
Open: For Canadian citizens, by appointment
Tel: +86 10 6465 1188

British Embassy Annex
Cultural and Educational Section, Landmark Tower, fourth floor, 8 Third Ring Road East, Chaoyang District
Open: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Daily
Tel: +86 10 6590 6903