Since Shanghai is a major world-class city, you expect it to have a very wide range of books available to any type of consumer. It does and it doesn’t. If you read Chinese, then you will find almost anything in print, but you should realize that most books sold here are copies or counterfeits that might lack high-quality printing or graphics. You will also not find books that the government considers unworthy of Chinese minds – this ban includes books by China’s only Nobel Prize winner in literature.
The foreign bookstores will carry many books in English, with small quantities in French, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. However, these tend to be the most recent best-sellers and a variety of business and motivational books. You will not find many classics and the children’s selections are slim. However, it is possible to find English books in the street stalls. The quality is not the best, but if you’re feeling a bit desperate for something new to read, it is possible to find bestsellers and some classics.
Residents of Shanghai should also watch for the Shanghai Book Fair, held at the ShanghaiMart in Hongqiao in August each year. This is the time when you will possibly find those books that might not be available on a normal basis in Shanghai. Admission is only 10 Yuan and you can walk through at least 2 floors of books in English and other foreign languages.
Finally, price might play a role in your choice of books. A Harry Potter book from the UK or America might cost you 220 Yuan in a bookstore, but only 15 Yuan on the street corner. Let’s be clear about two things: the books sold on the street are counterfeit copies, and the quality is perceptibly lower than the original book.
Foreign Bookstores
Apart from the street vendors, there are not many places to buy foreign books in their original languages. However, expats might want to investigate the following stores:
- Shanghai Foreign Languages Bookstore
390 Fuzhou Road
Tel: 63223200
This bookstore is the place to go if you want more choice than what booksdirect.com.cn offers. It has four large floors and lots of copies of most books, although their hardbacks frequently have torn or faded covers. You will also find foreign magazines (The Economist sells for about 70 RMB). There are more than 5 other branches throughout the city, although the Fuzhou Road store is by far the largest. This multi-story store in the heart of the stationery district is the best place to find materials for studying Chinese as well as China-interest. - Garden Books
325 Changle Road, near Shaanxi Nan Road
Tel: 021 5404 8729
Garden Books has a wide range of books on China interest as well as fiction and children’s books. There is a nice cafe on the ground floor serving gelato, coffee and other snacks. However, bear in mind that it’s crowded, there’s nothing eye-catching about the weak gray font and what little information there is on the books is written in bad English. - Chaterhouse
Chaterhouse has three locations in Shanghai and the widest selection and range of books.
Shanghai Centre, 1376 Nanjing West RoadShop B1-K, ShanghaiTimes Square, 93 Huaihai Zhong Road. Tel: 021 6391 8237
Shop 68, 6F, Super Brand Mall, 168 Lujiazui Xi Lu, Pudong. Tel: 021 5049 0668
Shanghai Centre, 1376 Nanjing West Road - CNPIEC Bookstores
This chain has a limited selection of books and magazines.
C4, Green Sports & Leisure Center, 800 Lantian Road Tel: 5030 6879
Hilton Hotel, 250 Huashan Road. Tel: 6248 0000, ext 8504
5/F, Grand Gateway, 1 Hongqiao Road. Tel: 6448 0977
Unit 522, Citic Square, 1168 Nanjing Xi Road. Tel: 5292 521
Other Bookstores
These other bookstores sell primarily or exclusively Chinese language books:
- Shanghai Xinhua Foreign Languages Bookstore
1890 Sichuan Road (N)
Tel: 6540 6416 - Sanlian Bookstore
624 Central Huaihai Road
Tel: 5306 4393 - Old China Hand Reading Room
27 Shaoxing Road
Tel: 6473 2526 - Spoken & Fish Bookstore
579-17 Ganquan Lu
Tel: 5607 4640 - Shanghai Book Traders
4/F 390 Fuzhou Lu
Tel: 6322 3200 ext 251 - Scholar Books
2/F Super Brand Mall
168 Lujiazui Lu
Pudong - Scholar Books
2/F Super Brand Mall
168 Lujiazui Lu
Pudong - Confucius Temple Book Market
215 Wenmiao Lu, near Zhonghua Lu - Shanghai Music Bookstore
365, Middle Tibet Road
Tel: 63223213 - Shanghai Ancient Books Store
424, Fuzhou Road
Tel: 63223453 - Shanghai Books City
401, Fuzhou Road
Tel: 63200651 - Shanghai Fine Arts Articles Shop
402, Fuzhou Road
Tel: 63528706
