Some of the bookstores in Shanghai are opened in the century old church, some are settled in old western style houses, some are built in the height of Lujiazui, and some are written by architects… Bookstores full of individuality and Shanghai flavor are irreplaceable spiritual corners in the city.
10:00—11:00
Xinhua cultural creation · space of light
Master Tadao Ando’s work
When I walked into the “Xinhua Bookstore” in the Aegean Sea shopping park, I found that it was no longer the stereotype of the Chinese bookstore. The space of Xinhua cultural creation · light is full of design sense. The wooden bookshelf is three stories high, the desks are scattered, the ceiling is like a vast starry sky, and the concrete components are interspersed… Its designer is Tadao Ando, who is known as “the poet of clear water concrete”.
In addition to bookshelves and books, there are few other things here, which fully conforms to Tadao Ando’s idea of “increasing the encounter between people and books”. Follow the stairs to the Pearl Art Museum upstairs. There is a permanent exhibit at the entrance of the Museum: the architectural model of “light space” shaped like an egg. This is also the highlight of the self breakthrough of Xinhua Bookstore, that is, the innovative mode of “bookstore + Art Museum”. The exhibition contents in the museum are also worth careful observation. Even if you come to the bookstore on a temporary basis, you can always meet a good exhibition.
Address: The 7th floor, Aiqinhai Shopping park, Minhang District
11:30—12:30
Sinan book company · poetry store
The Orthodox Church in flowers only sells poetry
On Gaolan Road, which has always been quiet and low-key, there is a church with a completely different style from the Old French Concession around, the Nicholas Orthodox Church. Jin Yucheng mentioned it in his novel flowers: “it was established by Russian overseas Chinese in the 1930s. It is said to commemorate the Czar Nicholas II executed by the Soviet Union.” After nearly a hundred years, the church changed its identity until Sinan book company settled in.
How do churches and bookstores coexist? Until now, I had no idea that the answer would be so subversive. In order to protect the historical buildings, the interior of the church should not touch the walls. The designer Yu Ting has the bold design concept of “church in church”. There are no traditional wooden bookshelves in the bookstore. Instead, they are huge perforated steel plates, which rise from the ground according to the shape of the main hall and lead directly to the dome.
Sinan Bookstore has a unique positioning of its branch poetry store: it is a bookstore that only sells poetry books. They collected classic works from 11 countries including China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany, and Japan, including more than 1,000 volumes of poetry collections in foreign languages. There are many small labels on the bookshelf depicting landmarks of different countries. Following the labels, you can find Matsuo Basho next to the “Kyoto Buddhist Temple” and Elizabeth Bishop next to the “Statue of Liberty”.
The address: No. 16, Gaolan Road, Huangpu District
14:00—15:00
Sinan Bookstore
“Humanistic Heart” under the plane tree
The Sinan Bookstore’s first brick-and-mortar store in Shanghai is located in the Sinan Mansion, an old bungalow just two roads away from the Poetry Store. At first, Sinan Bookstore opened a “concept store” in the open air of the mansion in the form of a pop-up store, which has been favored by many book fans in just 60 days. A few months later, an upgraded version of the concept store was completed in Building 25 of the mansion. This four-story garden independent villa was once the residence of the patriotic general Feng Yuxiang, and the poet Liu Yazi once lived here twice.
The main entrance of the bookstore is not on the ground floor of the villa, but has to be entered from the second floor along the stairs. Warm yellow lights and a cosy fireplace vaguely outline the original living room of the old bungalow. The third and fourth floors are often used as event spaces, holding various cultural and art exhibitions and reading activities.
In a very historical environment, carefully selecting the contents of the rows of bookshelves, you can experience the characteristics of Sinan Bookstore. Sinan Bookstore, which mainly focuses on the four categories of “literature, history, philosophy and art”, has a book selection team that brings together people from publishing, literature, academia, translation, and journalism to select the best quality Chinese and foreign books; At the same time, it has formed a sister store with the London Book Review Bookstore. The book selection team in London will carefully select about 500 new books in English according to the positioning, brand, characteristics and reading needs of Shanghai readers of Sinan Bookstore, and update them regularly.
Address: No. 517, Fuxing Middle Road, Huangpu District
15:15—16:15
Happiness Collection Blackstone
The vinyl sounded in the bookstore and traveled back to Shanghai Beach
In a 1925 “Mainland News”, there was such an advertisement for rent: Blackstone Apartment – the best apartment in China. This historic building on Fuxing Middle Road is known for its noble and mysterious qualities, wrapped in a Baroque eclectic façade, with open porches and exquisite Corinthian columns hidden under the plane trees. Originally only a private residence and a personal studio, the Blackstone Apartment has now become a landmark of the music-themed cultural block “Blackstone M+”.
A bookstore on the ground floor of the apartment called “Happy Collection · Black Stone” is the best way for people to explore the interior of the apartment. Under the beautiful arch, a classic mosaic floor tile corridor leads straight to the end, and you enter the bookstore along the corridor. The left and right sides are divided into 7 themed rooms according to the original room layout: the cultural room has a large number of original English literature; music and art collection There are hard-to-find piano scores in the room; there are phonographs, music and cultural creations and other peripherals in the vision room… The coffee shop on the left at the end of the corridor is the most spacious space in the entire bookstore, which was transformed from the original apartment swimming pool.
The reason why Happiness Collection·Blackstone mainly focuses on music and art books is because it is located in the famous “music circle” in Shanghai, where the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Shanghai Cultural Plaza are scattered around. Choose a rainy day, hide in the audition collection room, pick a beloved vinyl record, and when the melody plays, it feels like returning to the old Shanghai beach.
Address: 1st Floor, Black Stone Apartment, No. 1331 Fuxing Middle Road, Xuhui District
17:00—18:00
Green tile sports bookstore
The first sports-themed bookstore in Shanghai
It is hard to find a “pier” in Bingdun, so why don’t you try your luck at Luwa Sports Bookstore. As the first sports-themed bookstore in Shanghai, a retail point for Olympic licensed merchandise was also opened in the store. The bookstore is close to the Shanghai Institute of Physical Education and has a professional support near the water. It provides more than 1,000 sports books such as biographies of sports figures, sports literature and history, sports health and sports management. In addition to sports enthusiasts who come to buy books, teachers and students of the sports institute will also come here to find them. Some professional unpopular books.
The unique interior decoration makes the sports bookstore a favorite check-in place for young people. The 600-square-meter bookstore is based on a gray-toned industrial style. The atrium is 13 meters high. Next to the blue “Mingyue Mountain” composed of wooden boards of different sizes, there are 19 “mountain islands” surrounding it. Climbing up the stairs means “the mountain of books has road work as a path”.
In fact, the name “green tile” also has its origins. It is taken from a green tile-roofed building in the Republic of China in the Institute of Physical Education. Sports, history and culture are intertwined and integrated here, giving the bookstore an extraordinary meaning.
Address: No. 588, Qingyuan Ring Road, Yangpu District
18:30—19:30
Duoyun Academy Flagship Store
239 meters, look up at the clouds, look down at the book
Crossing the Huangpu River, from Puxi to Lujiazui, Pudong, the concrete jungle-like high-rise buildings are full of fast-paced and oppressive. However, on the 52nd floor of the “world’s second tallest building” Shanghai Center, there is still a relaxing and scholarly paradise – Duoyun Academy. 239 meters, which is the physical height of Duoyun Academy. After taking the elevator and experiencing a sense of weightlessness for more than ten seconds, it is a pure white area full of skylight.
The layout of the office building is deep and shallow, but the streamline is very long. The designer used this streamline to make a fuss, forming a long row of bookshelves with hollow partitions and semi-circular door openings. The circulation of the bookshelves leads readers to various areas. Among them, the coffee corner like a sky garden is very popular. Just order a cup of coffee and you will have a quiet world where you can look up at the clouds and look down at a book.
Duoyun Academy and Sinan Bookstore belong to the same group and maintain a high-quality book list. In addition to the “London Book Review Bookstore Section”, there is also a “Douban High Score Book Section”, and a special section “Bookshelf with Attitude” recommended by big names in all walks of life. The cultural and creative categories of the bookstore are also quite rich, and cultural and creative products of many cultural institutions in Shanghai can be bought here, such as the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Concert Hall, Shanghai Rockbund Art Museum, World Expo Museum and so on.
Address: 52nd Floor, Shanghai Tower, No. 479, Lujiazui Ring Road, Pudong New Area
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