“China’s most beautiful bookshop” opens branch in Shaxi, Dali
Librairie Avant-Garde, as a well-known chain bookshop based in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, opened its 16th branch in Shaxi township, Dali, northwest Yunnan province, on May 1.
Founded by Qian Xiaohua in 1996, Librairie Avant-Garde was named by CNN as “China’s most beautiful bookshop” in the year of 2015. Over the past 24 years, it has expanded its business to many cities and even rural areas nationwide.
“Rural residents are the ones who need public resources and space the most, so we have to open more bookstores for them,” said Qian Xiaohua.
Under the suggestion of Bei Dao, a famous Chinese-American poet and writer, the project of Librairie Avant-Garde (Shaxi) was launched in the autumn of 2016. And after over 3 years of construction, it has finally been unveiled to the public.
“I’ve noticed that people are very interested in our bookstore, which is a good start,” said Liu Yating, the manager.
“Every bookstore of us has its unique style, especially those ones in rural areas,” she told the reporter. Located in Beilong village, Shaxi township of Dali, this new branch has been converted from an abandoned food processing plant.
“Localization is our goal,” Liu Yating stressed. Therefore, on top of utilizing existing buildings in the place, she also plans to turn the bookshop into an arena where indigenous cultures of Dali can be genuinely displayed.
“We have a great choice of books about Yunnan, from real history to legend, and from folklore to languages of ethnic minority groups,” Liu Yating said.
Regarding the future, she hopes that the bookshop can make its own contribution to the socio-economic development of Shaxi and bring more possibilities to this multi-ethnic township.
Reporting by Li Xilin; translating by Li Yushuangyue; editing by Wang Jingzhong; photographs providing by the interviewee