Readers browse through books in Zengzhi Bookstore in Hefei, Anhui Province, on April 13 (XINHUA)
Creative bookstores
Librairie Avant-Garde, a private bookstore in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, specifically spares an exhibition space in the store for book cover design collections.
Reported in 2013 by CNN as the most beautiful bookstore in China and listed as one of the 10 most beautiful bookstores in the world by BBC in 2014, Librairie Avant-Garde is a cultural landmark in Nanjing.
While traditional bookstores struggle to compete with the e-book market, Librairie Avant-Garde has paved a unique and modern path for its readers.
Located in an underground car park bordering Nanjing University, the bookstore doesn't sell commercial bestsellers, like those guiding people how to get rich and successful.
At the entrance of the bookstore, instead of a shelf displaying best-selling books, people are welcomed by a replica of Rodin's The Thinker sculpture and even the cashier counter is built from thousands of books.
"Independent book shops represent the wellbeing of the city," says 50-year-old owner Qian Xiaohua. "When a city loses its bookshops, it's actually losing something of its soul."
A large cross hanging on the wall makes the bookstore look like a cathedral to books. For Qian, reading is a religion and the bookstore is a heaven for book lovers. Unlike the other stores which are piled with books and leave little space for readers to sit down and read, in Librairie Avant-Garde, there are more than 300 seats neatly lining up right in the main hall of the bookstore for people to read with free water provided. It is more like a public library.
"I feel very comfortable reading in this bookshop and they don't discriminate against readers who just want to read," said Hu Shuheng, a student from Nanjing University. "It is very rare for a bookstore."
Qian first started his bookstore business in 1996, in a squeezed 17-square-meter room and then moved three times. In September 2004, the business moved to its current location. On the first day of business, the sales volume surpassed 100,000 yuan ($16,129), setting a record for private bookstores in China.
"In modern times, bookstores need to explore diversified business strategies," said Qian. "It is not the bookstores that are lagging behind, but the way they operate."
Inside, the bookstore houses a homey coffee shop, permanent exhibition space for book cover designs and a retail area dedicated to creative works by Nanjingers.
"What we do is to create wonderful reading atmosphere and let people love reading in this space. Librairie Avant-Garde has unintentionally become the city's tourist spot," says Qian. "Tourists come here to observe the culture of a city and to exchange cultures, and it's also become a new meeting spot in Nanjing."
Not as fancy nor as eye-catching as Qian's book paradise, Zhu Chuanguo's bookstore in Hefei, capital city of Anhui Province, has also captured the attraction of book lovers.
Zhu's bookstore, named Zengzhi Bookstore, is for secondhand books and has remained at its original location since 2000.
"It was the prime time for the secondhand book market when we opened it," said Zhu's wife Chen Guixia. "When the market continued to spiral downward from 2005 onward, many secondhand bookstores in Hefei just closed," said Chen. "We are the only one that didn't, and we are the oldest secondhand bookstore in Hefei so far."
For 53-year-old Zhu, a booklover since high school, the intended function of the bookstore is more like a place for making friends through books. This 20-square-meter emporium is packed with books that can be dated back to decades ago.
In 2013, Zhu was diagnosed with rectal cancer. A relapse in late February this year meant he had to return to hospital.
When his clients learned of this, they rushed to help and the story of the store was even reported by China Central Television. As news of Zhu and his store went viral, crowds of bookworms flocked the tiny 20-square-meter emporium, resulting in over 10,000 books, about a quarter of the collection, flying off the shelves in just 10 days.
Zhu and his wife later resumed the business. The bookstore owner has kept a diary for nearly two decades; a first-person account of his experiences, which includes notes on how to spot forgeries and how to price books.
Some of Zhu's friends and customers are hoping to finance the publication of Zhu's diary, so that more people can benefit from the passion the avid book collector has poured into his work.
"Zhu does not just sell books. His passion ignites people's love for knowledge," said Cheng Zhanpeng, a regular patron. "Zengzhi Bookstore is the cultural heart of our city."
