Where to Find Foreign Language Books in Beijing

Let's say you want to find English and other foreign-language books in the capital, where would one go?

Ever since The Bookworm closed back in 2019 - which boasted not only a large selection of China-related books in foreign Languages, but a large library for borrowing - the options are a little few and far between. That doesn't mean they're nonexistent, though.

PageOne Qianmen

Perhaps the largest of PageOne's many Beijing branches, this one is also the best to visit. On the upper floors you'll find English versions of tomes on art, architecture, film, and travel complimented by views of Zhengyangmen and Tian'anmen Square. There's even a coffee shop you can read in to while away the time as well.

PageOne Bookstore (Qianmen Branch)
Bldg E11, Beijing Fun East, Qianmen Meishi Jie, Xicheng District
西城区前门煤市街北京坊东区E11号楼

Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore

What once was one of the capital's best known bookshops besides The Bookworm, these have also become worse for wear over the years. BFLB once had a separate shop on the 4th floor replete with secondhand novels that's now long gone.

Now most of the novels, classics, travel guides and the rest have been relegated to a back room to make room for... other great works. There's no telling how long they'll be there, but at least there are still some good reads to be found within.

Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore 北京外文书店
235 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District
东城区王府井大街235号

Mac Kids Books

This shop, located in a nondescript office building up in Shunyi, is the most comprehensive kids bookstore in Beijing according to our sister site Jingkids International. Even though it's mainly aimed towards Kids aged 0-18, there are works like the Lord of the Rings to be found here, and the owners can order books to be shipped to Beijing if you can't find what you're looking for.

Mac Kids Books 麦克英文童书店
Golden Landmark Office Bldg 910-911, 32 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区亮马桥32号高斓大厦910-911号

Roundabout

Although a store for second hand goods all around, Roundabout does have a fair selection of second hand foreign language books on offer. They also have a special WeChat group for sales and exchanges of second hand books (link below).

Roundabout
Cathay View Plaza, 2 Xiangjiang Bei Lu, Shunyi District
顺义区香江北路2号

JD and Taobao

It goes without saying that if you can't find it offline, you can most likely find it online. A number of shops on JD and Taobao offer Foreign and English-language titles for delivery (one of my go-tos on JD is 中华商务进口图书旗舰店 Zhōnghuá Shāngwù Jìnkǒu Túshū Qíjiàn Diàn, China Business Import Flagship Bookstore). Just be sure to check that the Chinese word 预订 yùdìng, meaning "reserve" isn't before the title. That means it'll be shipped from overseas, which generally takes three to four weeks to arrive.

READ: An Interview with New Spittoon Book Club Leader Sean Toland

Images: César Viteri (via Unsplash), Vincent R. Vinci, Vivienne Tseng-Rush