Shanghai:
Having grown used to living at Peking University, when I came back to Shanghai I felt that finding books was really not very convenient. Still, Shanghai is after all a big city, so there are quite a few bookstores.
From my home it’s a very short walk to First Yaohan, and in the basement of First Yaohan there is the so-called “Oriental Book City,” advertised as the largest in Pudong. There are quite a lot of books, but the layout is too chaotic; as a general bookstore, it doesn’t have many academic books.
On Fuzhou Road: Shanghai Book City is the most famous, but it is also a general bookstore. It is vulgar to the core, and has few academic books.
There are also several places on Fuzhou Road that sell bargain books; not bad, and if you walk the whole street you’ll cover them all.
Worth mentioning is the Shanghai Social Sciences Bookstore on Fuzhou Road. The first and second floors specialize in social science books, the third floor in bargain books, and the fourth floor in old and rare books; it’s worth a visit. (It has been undergoing a major renovation these past few days, and I don’t know what it will be like after it’s finished.)
On a small street near Fuzhou Road there is an academic bargain bookstore. Although small, it does after all concentrate academic books fairly well.
As for the former Sikaole, now the Dashzhong Bookstore, there is one on Fuzhou Road, and an even larger one in Xujiahui’s Metro City. But it has few academic books; and if you want to browse a general bookstore, you might as well go to Book City, so I rarely go there.
In recent years a Boku Book City has opened on Yishan Road; it came in from Zhejiang and is quite large. The layout and categorization are quite comfortable at a glance, and the books are pretty comprehensive. As a general book city, I personally feel it is better than Dashzhong Bookstore and Shanghai Book City; it’s just a bit lacking in transportation convenience.
There are many other big and small bookstores all over Shanghai, but if it’s a general bookstore, I only browse the nearby Oriental Book City, Fuzhou Road, and occasionally go to Boku to look for books; I don’t know the other places very well.
The Confucius Temple has a book market that opens every Sunday. Legend has it that it used to be very good, but now, because stall rents keep rising, there are fewer and fewer tasteful shopkeepers. The Confucius Temple book market has now turned into a place to buy pirated books, or to collect comic strips and all sorts of messy, unbearably vulgar books. I go there very rarely now.
Every summer, the Shanghai Exhibition Center holds a Book Fair. This year, when the book fair was on, I was still in Beijing, but I didn’t feel too sorry about missing it, because last year’s Shanghai Book Fair was simply a one-man show by the “Shanghai Century Group.” Aside from the Century Group, which occupied more than half the territory, the only other booths worth looking at were those of university presses—mainly East China Normal University Press and Fudan University Press. All in all, it wasn’t very interesting.
After all is said and done, Shanghai’s paradise for buying books is still near Fudan University. On the so-called “Corruption Street” inside Fudan University there are two small bookstores, which are all right. On Guoquan Road there are two more; among them, the academic bookstore Lu Ming Bookstore is quite good. Around a corner there is a very good “Penguin Bookstore,” but it moved away last year, reportedly back to its headquarters near the Shanghai Stadium, and I haven’t gone to check it out yet. I heard that the Fudan branch became Left Bank Bookstore, which I also haven’t checked out.
Recently, not far from Fudan University, a “Shanghai University New Book City” also opened. It’s quite large and pretty good. Inside there is a bargain-book section, where there are many bargain books of good quality, and the prices are also relatively the cheapest.
Beijing:
Peking University is still better after all—bookstores are so convenient to browse that they can become a daily leisure activity (with money flowing out in a rush). Let me start with bookstores inside Peking University:
The Xinhua Bookstore at Sanjiaodi: I’ve never browsed Xinhua Bookstores; ignore it.
Textbook Center: ignore.
Peking University Bookstore: it’s quite convenient to buy books from Peking University Press and all kinds of textbooks; when needed, I go there occasionally.
Chanchang Bookstore’s old and rare books section in the temporary building: there are some secondhand books; I go browse there occasionally, but I rarely buy books.
Weekend Cultural Book Market: on rare occasions you can find some pretty good books there, but the good stuff you can’t find elsewhere probably isn’t all that much either. Occasionally, if I’m waiting for someone near the West Small Gate on a weekend, I’ll go half an hour early and browse a bit on the side.
The paradise for buying books on campus: inside Wumart Supermarket, there are three bookstores, all academic bookstores with a 25 percent discount, each with its own specialty. The most important is “Boyatang.” Although the bookstore is small, it probably has more academic books than all the Shanghai Book City and Boku Book City combined. Its humanities and social science books are fairly comprehensive, the prices are low, and it also offers ordering service—simply fantastic! Boyatang now has two storefronts: the original one mainly deals in Western academic books, while the other handles books on Chinese philosophy and Chinese studies, as well as bargain books; but Boyatang’s bargain books aren’t very impressive.
Then there is “Hanxue Bookstore,” which, as the name suggests, I don’t go to very often because of my own research specialty; books on Chinese studies there are very comprehensive.
The middle one, “Yecao Bookstore,” is the one I go to most often—of course, since I’m going to Yecao, I’ll also go to Boyatang, but usually I visit Yecao first. Compared with the others, this bookstore is a bit more “bourgeois chic”; it has some popular books (though of course it can’t compare with Xinhua Bookstore), and most importantly it has two strengths: first, its bargain books are excellent, with many titles and very fast turnover. Second, it has quite a lot of popular science books, and other academic books are also fairly complete (though of course not as complete as Boyatang). Although the storefront is small, so somewhat older books won’t stay on the shelves for long, I go there often, mainly to keep an eye on new books and bargain books; it’s a very good place.
Exit the West Small Gate, turn left immediately, and in an open parking area, surrounded by several large corrugated-iron storage sheds, are hidden two bookstores: one is said to be “Inner Bookstore,” though it has no signboard either; it sells secondhand books, with relatively high prices, but occasionally there are some good books. The other is “Chanchang Bookstore,” which mainly carries bargain books from Commercial Press, SDX Joint Publishing, and Zhonghua Book Company—at about half price. If you want to buy books from these publishers, go there first.
Walk north from the West Small Gate to the Haidian Gymnasium; in the northwest corner of the Haidian Gymnasium there is a “Third Wave Bookstore.” Because of its out-of-the-way location it is relatively neglected, but it is also a very good academic bookstore. Since it takes the name of the wave of democratization, one would imagine it places more emphasis on books in the social sciences, and that is indeed the case; of course, it also has quite a few philosophy books. Most importantly, it now seems to offer a long-term 27 percent discount across the board, slightly lower than the 25 percent discount at Boyatang and the like, so in terms of price it should be the cheapest place nearby to buy new books. Worth a visit.
Near Third Wave, across the street there is a “park,” and at the intersection there is a newly opened bargain-bookstore. It’s quite small, but it’s nice to take a look while you’re there.
A bit south from the West Small Gate is Haidian Book City. Across from Haidian Book City is the larger general bookstore “Zhongguancun Book Building.” There are quite a lot of academic books, and it feels much more comfortable than Shanghai Book City.
The upper floors of the main building of Haidian Book City are made up of one small bookstore after another, the vast majority selling exam-prep books, English books, and computer books, but there are two worth browsing: one bargain-bookstore and one Yecao Bookstore—the same chain as the Yecao Bookstore inside Peking University, and the staff often shuttle between the two locations; they even recognize me now. The bargain books there seem to be more numerous and cheaper, while new books are sold at 20 percent off. There is also a Christian Culture Bookstore tucked away in a corner, with some Christian books, a small number of books from Taiwan’s Campus Bookroom, as well as general inspirational books and some Christian trinkets; it’s a rather distinctive place. On the streets outside the main building there are also several “China Bookstores.” But recently Haidian Book City has been undergoing a major renovation, apparently being completely demolished and rebuilt; I don’t know how it will turn out.
The basement level of Haidian Book City is Guo Linfeng Bookstore, a large private academic bookstore; it’s very good, but don’t rush—there are even larger and better private academic bookstores nearby.
Recently, a new building called “Third Pole” was erected to the east of the Book City, and on floors 5 through 8 there is a large bookstore, whose area is probably even bigger than Zhongguancun Book Building. But it is full of vulgar books—utterly vulgar—and there is not the slightest reason to browse it (legend has it that the only redeeming feature is that it sells some books from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan). In fact, the bookstore is on floors 4 through 7, but Third Pole, in a fit of taboo-avoidance, does not even have a fourth floor; from this alone you can see just how vulgar it is.
Leave Peking University’s South Gate and turn left, and there is a “Fengrushong Bookstore,” created by the late philosophy professor Wang Wei. Its type is similar to Guo Linfeng, but personally I feel it is a little more comfortable to browse than Guo Linfeng; in any case, it is also a good place.
But the leader among private academic bookstores is unquestionably “Wan Sheng Book Garden”! Exit the East Gate and walk straight along Chengfu Road; Wan Sheng Book Garden is on the left side of the road. This is the place I have seen with the most complete collection of humanities and social science books, and the most flavor to browse. The skill in selecting books is excellent (of course Boyatang, Fengrushong, and the like are also very good), and there are no annoying vulgar books; the layout and service are also very good. In addition, the books in the “science-humanities” area that I care about are the most abundant here; humanities books on ecology, psychology books, and academic books on religion are also the most complete and best. Books in other disciplines are also very comprehensive. However, the bargain books on the ground floor are not very good.
Inside the clothing market next to Wan Sheng there is a “Douban Bookstore,” with some bargain books, so it’s worth stopping by.
By the way, it seems that a Lady Bookstore was being renovated under Bifengtang (Plato Café) to the east of Wan Sheng a few days ago.
Before reaching Wan Sheng Book Garden, there is a small branch road on the left; if you go in along it, there is a place with a sign saying “book supermarket,” and inside there are lots of secondhand books—very good. In fact, that is the “Hezhong Bookstore” run by Kongfz.com. But I went there twice this summer and both times there was a sign hanging at the door saying “closed,” so the situation is unclear.
It is said that in some secret spot near Tsinghua there is a “One-Way Street Bookstore,” but I haven’t gone to check it out yet.
Following Chengfu Road all the way to Wudaokou, there is a “Photosynthesis Bookroom,” which has quite a lot of books, sitting somewhere between academic and leisure reading; the bookstore also has its own character, and if you happen to be passing by, you can browse it.
There are still quite a few good bookstores in Beijing. Among the large general bookstores are the enormous Xidan Book Building, as well as the bookstore at Wangfujing and so on. In the end, Xidan Book Building is a place with a very complete selection of books, so it’s still worth browsing.
In Xuanwu District, the Liulichang area has some bookstores; there is a place selling secondhand books that is fairly worth a look, so if you go to Liulichang, of course don’t miss it.
On Wangfujing Street there are two most important bookstores: one is the “SDX Joint Publishing Taofen Book Center” on Meishuguan East Street (actually the same road as Wangfujing Street). When browsing bookstores in Beijing, one cannot fail to visit SDX; the bookstore is quite tasteful and has quite a lot of academic books. And on Wangfujing Street, not far from SDX, is Commercial Press’s “Hanfen Tower,” which is similar to SDX (though it naturally features more Commercial Press titles), and it also has a considerable number of books in the science-humanities area.
The golden weeks in spring and autumn in Beijing hold a “Book Fair” at Ditan Park. Although it is obviously mainly filled with all sorts of miscellaneous books, a rare opportunity is still a rare opportunity, and one ought to go browse it at least once. Taking the subway is more convenient, but I myself prefer to ride a bicycle there; cycling in Beijing feels really great.
Buying books online is also one of my important channels for buying books. However, because it is so convenient to browse bookstores at Peking University, I don’t often “browse” bookstores online, and instead mainly use them for targeted searches. Looking for books online is undoubtedly much more convenient, and delivery is also pretty good. As for delivery, within Peking University Weland is the fastest and free, and China-Pub is also specifically aimed at universities, though I haven’t had a chance to try it yet. Dangdang and Joyo are the old hands, but now I always feel they’ve lost some momentum, no longer comparable to the days when the two of them were waging a fierce price war. Jingqi specializes in bargain books, but there are fewer books, and strangely enough one can’t even access it directly from the educational network, so I’ve been using it less lately. There is also China Book Network, Beijing Book Building, and others where you can buy books, but generally speaking I can solve the problem within the three sites Weland, Dangdang, and Joyo.
Worth mentioning is Kongfz.com. In fact, it only provides a platform for customers and bookstores to conduct off-line transactions; the transaction form is still remittance and mail order. But there really are so many rare old books to be found there! It’s truly fascinating. After activating Industrial and Commercial Bank of China online banking, remittance can be done right in front of the computer, which is extremely convenient, and I haven’t encountered a single scammer in my dozens of orders so far. Hunting for old books is a lot of fun (with money flowing out in a rush).
I’ll stop sorting things out here for now; if you know of any other good places to buy books, please tell me!!
August 29, 2006
Latest comments
- Gu
2007-02-26 18:57:04 Anonymous 221.219.2.103
Some additions:
1. “Douban Bookstore” opened another flagship store across from Wan Sheng (still inside the clothing market), with lots of bargain books, and quite good ones too; it’s not only worth a “by the way” visit, but also worth making a special trip for~
2. The “Lady Bookstore” seems to have vanished before the renovation was even finished……
3. “Hezhong Bookstore” is functioning normally. - Little Pet
2007-08-27 15:30:32 Anonymous 218.14.224.70
Mm-hmm, I also think Kongfz is great—I found some very special books there, and it felt wonderful~ My own favorite places to go are Yecao and Boyatang. In recent years Yecao has been catching up to Boyatang; Boyatang is run by a teacher from my department~~~~ Fengrushong has a good atmosphere, but the books are too expensive~
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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