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Bookstores

Gone are the days when all you could find to read in a foreign language at a local bookstore were either political tomes or "classic" novels by "dead white guys."

A recent perusal of the shelves at the Xidan Book Mansion, the Wangfujing Bookstore and the Beijing Foreign Languages Book Store revealed that the choices available to discerning book buyers are increasing, with offerings in English such as complete sets of the Harry Potter Series, the Great Books of the Western World, the works of V.S. Naipaul, Anne Rice, Salman Rushdie and other contemporary writers joining the voices of great writers such as Hemingway, Faulkner, D.H. Lawrence, Balzac and others. In addition, guidebooks for foreign visitors and books on Chinese tourist sites, culture, furniture and architecture are also available at the above three bookstores and Beijing Friendship Store at Jianguomen.

But the shelves containing works in other languages such as Russian, Japanese, French and German are also getting longer. Be sure to visit the Third Floor of the Beijing Foreign Languages Book Store in addition to viewing English selections on the First Floor.

Also search for "gems" in foreign languages at the book sellers' stalls at the Panjiayuan Curio or "Dirt" Market in Southeast Beijing, just inside the Third Ring Road off Panjiayuan Lu.