Beijing Book Building- Picking up a good book in Beijing

Literature has always been an integral part of Chinese culture. Writing and reading were seen as important activities by the ancient Chinese in their never ending pursuit of knowledge. Publication of books was seen not only as a means of communication but also as a method of disseminating knowledge to the masses and eternalizing historic events.
The Chinese were among the first civilizations to create paper, and the stylized Chinese characters formed one of the first written languages in the world. Through out the centuries that lead up to the present much emphasis has been placed upon literature in China. It is appropriate that the present Chinese capital of Beijing continues with this culture of literature and books.
An important place to visit for those interested in literature is the Beijing book building, which is unique among many other attractions in Beijing as it draws in thousands of locals and tourists who love books. It contains a vast collection of books from many languages including English, the genre of these books are also extremely varied and can range from comics to non-fiction. An important aspect of Beijing is its long association with books, literature and all things intellectual. This may stem from the fact that the city is home to a large student population and that it also houses the University of Beijing one of the oldest universities in the world.
The Beijing Book Building is by far the largest bookstore in Beijing at a massive sixteen thousand square meters of floor space. It is managed by the Xinhua bookstore chain, which has a number of other outlets in various locations in the country. A wide variety of books can be found here, and it is the place to visit to find books of Chinese culture, literature or art.

Among the locals the bookstore is known for its vast collection of English fiction books and is regularly visited by many youngsters interested in reading bestsellers such as the Twilight series, Harry Potter or Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series.
For travelers staying at a Beijing hotel such as The Peninsula Beijing, the Book Building can be easily accessed via public transport. Visitors staying at Forbidden City Hotels will find this a useful place to visit if they are looking for a good read on their vacation.