Beijing's best foreign-language bookshops

Resolutely anti-Kindle? Finding good reads at good prices can seem tough in Beijing, but these spots will serve you well

Beijing Books Building

Hundreds of thousands of books pack into a hectic five floors at this Xidan behemoth – anything from the latest lit, political thought and calligraphy to what looks like every textbook ever printed in China. Plenty of people around reading them, too.

Fortunately, the foreign imports section on level two is a relative oasis of calm, and has a decent selection of, largely, well-priced English-language reading materials. A row of fiction features primarily popular, if not fully current, best-sellers or novels recently adapted into hit movies, alongside a good number of Vintage and Penguin Classics. A very small range of fictions in French, Spanish and German are available too.

Non-fiction supply isn‘t necessarily deep or up-to-the-minute, but is broad enough; the latest editions of several imported magazines, such as National Geographic (40RMB), are well stocked, while travel guides, including the full Lonely Planet line, are plentiful but expensive. On the third floor, you’ll find any and every Chinese-language learning material.

Xidan Tushu Dasha, 17 Xi Chang'an Jie, Xicheng district. Open 9am-10pm daily.

The Bookworm

The Sanlitun book hub has long been the hotspot for the city literati, hosting not only an extensive library of English-language publications, but a range of writers' talks and groups, its own literary festival and various other cultural happenings.

Membership to the lending library starts at 200RMB for six months, allowing you to take out two books at a time for up to two weeks. As for purchases, the shop area is compact, but stands out in its selection of translated Chinese fiction and non-fiction, from both Chinese and China-based authors – the aspiring China Hand can learn it all here. It’s also the most reliable spot to pick up issues of local periodicals such as Spittoon and the Shanghai Literary Review.

Inside Courtyard 4, Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang district. Open 9am-midnight daily.

Page One (Qianmen)

The newest branch of Page One, found amid Qianmen‘s stylish Beijing Fun development, is a spectacle in itself – a design fest littered with sleek staircases, brushed wood fittings, multi-floor-spanning bookshelves, glass panels and an awesome vista out towards Tiananmen Square. Indeed, many people are here just to pose for social media snaps.

Quite fittingly, its selection of art and design albums and guides is the best in the city, while the English-language fiction section – which snakes its way up along a snazzy staircase (pictured) – is similarly well stocked, if a little pricier than elsewhere (many titles fetch over 100RMB). It‘s also home to a pleasant, wood-encased café on the third floor, which is a decent spot to sit down in with your new purchase.

Building 11, Beijing Fun, Langfang Toutiao, 13 Meishi Jie, Xicheng district.

Wangfujing Foreign Languages Bookstore

Barring the schlep to the touristy parade of Wangfujing, a visit here will usually prove worthwhile, and there's a good chance you'll find what you're looking for – probably at the best price in the city, too.

Passing the translations of Xi Jinping Thought that greet you on arrival, the ground floor is well stocked with English-language fiction new and old. (Using the omnipresent Penguin Classics imprint as a guide, we found them to be cheaper here than anywhere else, priced almost always at 68RMB.) The non-fiction range is also good, and an overflow section of older editions can be found up one floor.

There's a colourful Japanese magazine area up on level three, next to the requisite art and design section, as well as an overly extensive audiovisual department featuring CDs, DVDs and even Rosetta Stone cassettes, all of which largely collect dust these days.

235 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng district. Open 9.30am-10pm daily.

Polyphony

Not a bookshop, per se, but Polyphony does stock the latest editions of a wide range of imported American comics. It’s also super slick, and the minimalist store’s crisp white backdrop lets the bright pages of Batman, Deadpool and Dr Strange (from 38RMB) do all the talking. Visitors are welcome to hang out and browse the database of titles, all loaded up on iPads. It’s not all high-tech though, and for those seeking a more tactile experience, original titles including Spider-Man and X-Men are also for sale (50-150RMB).

1F, Topwin Center, 1 Sanlitun Nan Lu, Chaoyang district. Open 11am-10pm daily.

For an in-depth guide to books in Beijing, hit 'Read more'. 

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