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| At Page One, even the staircase is lined with texts.(Photo:CRIENGLISH.com) |
Prior to Page One, Beijing's large Chinese bookstores made an admirable effort to supply an array of English literature to those who sought it, though their selections unsurprisingly leaned toward the mainstream. Alongside expensive coffees, boutique-style shops such as The Bookworm or Trends Lounge offer more specialized book selections, but they are obviously limited by space. The impressive two-story size of the Sanlitun Page One houses a wide variety of books and merchandise in a cozily modern environment.
Catering to English speakers, 70 percent of the store's 100,00 plus books are in English. Chinese readers can indulge in the remaining book selection, which includes texts printed in both traditional and simplified characters.
"We are a bilingual store," shrugged store manager Sally Sun, when confronted with the lack of books in other languages.
Upstairs is where most of the books are kept, including impressive sections on travel, money matters and classics. A bloated section labeled Food and Beverage consists of no less than 14 bookcases. The Children and Young Adult sections are unparalleled in Beijing, a boon to Beijing's expat youngsters and families.
Titles considered too sensitive or saucy for China may be accessible in smaller Beijing bookstores, but not at Page One. Sorry, everyone, no "Fifty Shades of Grey" here.
Page One's chosen focus is centered squarely on the visual arts. Arty tomes that celebrate graffiti, company logos, modern architecture and 17th-century masters dominate the ground-floor entrance level. Coco Chanel and Warhol are clearly represented. People mill around displays of huge format coffee table books, browsing their bright, glossy pages.
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